Thomas Alexander RIGBY

Thomas Alexander Rigby
85, of Bigwood Island, Georgian Bay and Wellington, Florida, died peacefully surrounded by family and friends on July 24, 2013.
  Born April 6, 1928, in St. Catharines, Ontario, Alec is survived by the great love of his life, Arlette (née Ravet), formerly of Paris, France, their children Romain and Emma; his children with Joan Clarke (née Stewart), Jill (Richard Meech), Tom (Wendy), Penny (Peter Lydon) and Sally (Alan Donaldson); his sisters Sally (Bill Bartlett) and Caroline; his grandchildren Kenzie, Olivia and Keegan Rigby; Tom and Anna Lydon; Kate and Stephanie Donaldson; nephews Rob Marsh and Alexis Ravet who were like sons, and the family's beloved dogs, Duke and Amelia.
  An innovative businessman, in addition to working in his youth as a salvage diver and lumberjack, Alec once owned a Texaco gas station. He later purchased Niagara Concrete Pipe Ltd. and Inland Transport. In the early '60s, he created Sportsland Park, then the biggest swimming pool in the world, located outside Toronto. Alec went on to build Atlas Environmental that was, in the '90s, the largest independent construction debris recycling business in the southeastern United States.
  Alec's greatest entrepreneurial passion remained his lifetime involvement with Ripley's Believe It or Not, an enterprise he acquired in 1969 and developed into a successful entertainment franchise. He sold the business after more than two decades of involvement yet remained an active franchisee in Ripley's global museums.
  Alec explored the world on his sailboats, the mahogany-hulled Inishfree which was lost in a hurricane off Frying Pan Shoals, N. C. in October, 1973 with the skipper and crew all surviving a harrowing rescue and, later, the 25-meter ketch Jubilee III. In addition to several challenging trans-Atlantic crossings, the frigid journey to Norway's Nordkapp, one of the most northerly points in Europe, added to Alec's non-stop roster of stories that he loved recounting to family and friends.
  T. Alec Rigby: Adventurer, Leader and Captain. A man of compassion, generosity, affection, inspiration and wisdom whose one-of-a-kind personality will be forever remembered by all those who knew and cherished him deeply.
  A memorial service is anticipated for the Fall. For more information, please email invite@rigby.me. In Alec's memory, donations for leukemia research can be made to Roswell Park Alliance Foundation, P.O. Box 631, Buffalo 14240, USA.