Community activist dies
Charles Rupert Biggs, 84, of Berkeley Springs, died Friday, November 2, 2012 at Winchester Medical Center, Winchester, Va.
Born April 21, 1928 in Philadelphia, Pa., he was the son of the late John, Jr. and Anna Vaughan Swift Rupert Biggs.
He was a member of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Berkeley Springs.
He attended Wilmington Friends School in Wilmington, Del. and received a B.S. in 1950 and an M.S. in 1951 from Princeton University. He was a licensed Profressional Engineer in New York and New Jersey and a licensed Professional Planner in New Jersey. He worked for Fay, Spofford and Thorndike Engineers, ITT and Frazier Industrial Corporation before starting his own firm, Biggs Engineering Associates, in Washington, N.J.
After his retirement, he moved to Berkeley Springs, where he was active in a variety of volunteer organizations. He served on the boards of the Sleepy Creek Watershed Association, the Cacapon State Park Foundation and the Solid Waste Authority. The Charles R. Biggs Recycling Center was named in his honor. He was also a Master Gardener and treasurer of the Berkeley Springs Farmers Market.
He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Margaret Susan Ashton Biggs, at home; four children, Charles Rupert Biggs II, Knoxville, Tenn., Margaret Biggs Gordon, Berkeley Springs, Frederick Massey Biggs, Storrs, Conn. and Elizabeth Vaughan Biggs, Williamsville, Va.; one sister, Anna Biggs Pierce, Fall River, Mass.; seven grandchildren, Charles Grahe Danko, Ithaca, N.Y., Elizabeth Ashton Danko, Alexandria, Va., Anna Spencer Gordon and John Williams Gordon, both of Berkeley Springs, Elizabeth Cecilia Biggs and Catriona Margaret Biggs, both of London, England and Mary Tichner Biggs, Knoxville, Tenn. and several nieces and nephews.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by one brother, John Biggs III.
Funeral services will be conducted at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Novembr 17 at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 180 S. Washington Street, Berkeley Springs, with Rev. Frank Coe officiating. Private interment will be in Bethel Cemetery, Middletown, Del.
Arrangements are being handled by Helsley-Johnson Funeral Home & Cremation Center, 95 Union Street, Berkeley Springs.
