June 5, 1940 - June 16, 2021
Peter Frederick Rigden
Peter Frederick Rigden, 81, of Abbotsford, died June 16, 2021, at Abbotsford Regional Hospital. Peter was born June 5, 1940, in Leeds, England to Frederick and Violet. After attending Ingram Road Primary School and Leeds Technical College, Peter went on to serve in the Merchant Marines and visited six continents and 129 ports of call. This included Vancouver where he met his wife, Pat (and they were married for 55 years). Peter enjoyed sports and was an avid swimmer winning many awards at school, a cricket player and a soccer player and coach for many years. Peter was a diehard fan of the Vancouver Whitecaps, Vancouver Canucks, and Leeds United.
Peter had a number of careers that centered around his passion for designing systems and solving problems. As a stationary engineer, he worked at many local food and manufacturing plants. He then started his own construction company and designed and built homes in the Lower Mainland including a home for his family. He later re-trained as a computer technician and helped family and friends with their computer problems.
Peter was an incredibly creative man with a beautiful singing voice. He enjoyed a wide variety of hobbies including: gardening, photography, crafting bird garden ornaments, oil painting, genealogy, creating amazing Christmas light displays, and creating family calendars. He was also an accomplished cake decorator, making wedding cakes for friends and family including his own and his daughter's. His birthday cakes were a much anticipated family tradition.
Peter had a life of service and was active for many years in the Lions Club, church bible study leader, and was past president of the strata council.
His love of inventing was only exceeded by his love for his family. Peter is survived by wife Pat (née Warwick) of Abbotsford; his daughter Kimberly (Christopher), and their children Elijah, Esmé, Nikolai and Margaret of Waterloo, ON; son Todd (Mitzi), and their children Rocky and Rider of Punta Gorda, FL; and son Arron of Saskatoon, SK and his children Austin and Bryce of Mission, BC. Peter was predeceased by his parents and his sister Christine and has many relatives in England.
Thank you to Rev Canon Mike Stewart and the parish of St. Matthews for their care and support. Special thanks to BC EHS Emergency Medical Dispatchers and Paramedic crews who provided frequent care as well as the staff at Abbotsford Regional Hospital particularly the caring folks in the ER, Baker 2 & 3, and ICU Department.
The family will be holding a funeral service at St. Matthew's Anglican Church (ANiC), 2087 McMillan Road, Abbotsford, on Thursday August 5th at 1:00 pm reception to follow.
Donations in memory of Peter, in lieu of flowers, can be made to Cyrus House https://cyruscentre.com/giving/