Bill Vigars, who accompanied Terry Fox on his 1980 Marathon of Hope and who, with writer Ian Harvey, authored the recent book, ‘Terry and Me: The Inside Story of Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope’, has passed away.
At 78, Vigars died of heart failure in Vancouver on Wednesday, October 9, 2024.
Vigars, a native of St. Thomas (ON) and former director of public relations and fundraising for the Canadian Cancer Society, was 33 at the time he met Terry Fox on the East coast of Canada in 1980, where Fox began his Marathon of Hope.
Fox, whose right leg was amputated after he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma (an aggressive bone cancer that usually affects children and young adults), had a vision of running across Canada to raise awareness and money for cancer research. He dipped his prosthetic leg in the Atlantic ocean on April 12, 1980 and began his cross-country run.
From all accounts, for Vigars, meeting Terry Fox was a life-changing moment that impacted the rest of his life.
Little was known about Terry Fox and his run to raise awareness for cancer research until Vigars came along. He helped Fox raise that awareness that eventually raised $24 million over the 143 day marathon.
Fox was an inspiration. He was a 22-year-old at the time and would be up at 4:00 a.m. and running by five and have almost 20 kilometres in by 8:00 a.m. Everyday he would run 42 kilometres.
Vigars remained with Fox throughout his run until it ended in Thunder Bay, when it was discovered that the cancer had spread into Terry’s lungs, bringing to a close his vision of running across Canada. Terry Fox died in hospital on June 28, 1981 in British Columbia.
In his book, Vigars “…tells the inside story of the Marathon of Hope—the logistical nightmares, boardroom battles, and moments of pure magic.”
At the 44 annual Saugeen Shores Terry Fox run in Port Elgin on September 15, 2024, organizer Geordie Farrell announced the exciting news that Vigars had agreed to attend the 45th annual run in 2025.
“He never attends any events as he finds it too emotional,” said Farrell, “but when I approached him and told him my story and the story of my husband, Earl, he agreed to come, and will be bringing Terry’s memorabilia and speaking in local schools.”
Unfortunately, none of that will now happen as Bill Vigars died on October 9, 2024 of heart failure.
However, the vision of Terry Fox lives on across the world thanks to Bill Vigars, and today, the Marathon of Hope continues having raised more than $700 million dollars in Terry’s name for Cancer research.
