Dort S. Bigg

Dort Sharon Bigg III, JD, 63, of Turner Center, ME and Sunrise, FL, passed away October 29, 2019 surrounded by his loved ones at the Community Hospice House in Merrimack, NH.

He was born September 6, 1956, the son of Dort Sharon Bigg and Marcia Greenwood Bigg. Dort graduated from Joel Barlow high school in CT where he was captain of the track team and excelled in cross country running and middle distance track. He graduated with a BA in Psychology from The George Washington University in Washington DC, working at Sibley Hospital in the psychiatric ward during his years of studies where he was also dedicated to patient advocacy. He graduated from The Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University in VA where he was a member of the Law Review, was admitted to the bar in Virginia and District of Columbia. He used his law degree to enhance his passion for school accreditation for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, was Director of Legal Affairs at the American Psychological Association, Technical Advisor to Non-Federal Negotiators during US Dept of education's negotiated rule-making process to amend regulations regarding student financial aid, served as Legislative Counsel with US Senate Judiciary Committee for antitrust and technology law, Executive Director of the Accreditation Commission, Board of Directors and Bylaws Committee Chair to the Council of Colleges of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine, Executive Director at Atlantic Institute of Oriental Medicine, and an Accreditation Consultant. Dort was also the IT manager at The Great Outdoors Wedding & Waterfront Center in Turner, ME with his special friend of 50 years, Mary Seaman.
Dort loved the outdoors, hiking, cycling, scuba diving, running, hang gliding, hunting, and reading. He competed in the International Spear Fishing Rodeo in LA and dived with his father on shipwrecks in NH and Bermuda. He had a legendary sense of humor and as the eldest of all the cousins and brothers, he was their fearless guide. During summers at their Grandparent's farm in Turner Center, he blazed trails using an antique machete leading them through the gulley that bordered the farm. He was his brothers and cousins nature guru and leader of adventures that will always be close to their hearts. A loving son, brother, father, cousin, friend-Dort will be missed by all who were blessed to know him and he will forever remain in our hearts.

He is survived by his mother, Marcia Bigg Slama of Exeter, NH; his wife, Elena Otero Bigg, her parents, Augustin and Grace Otero and her sister Carmen Federle, and her brother Gus Otero all of Alexandria, VA; his father's wife, Meredith Bigg of Turner Center, ME; Dort's son of whom he was so proud, Father Dort A Bigg of Lake Ridge, VA and of the Diocese of Arlington VA; his brothers, who stood by him with so much love and care: William G. Bigg and Paula Durost of Goffstown, NH, Patrick F. Bigg of Dunbarton, NH and Susan Bigg of Hooksett NH and their children Samantha and Ryan; Daniel and Tina Bigg of Sherman Oaks, CA; Frederick and Emily Slama and their children Ben and Laura of Durham, NH; Daniel and Ann Small of Livermore Falls, ME; Dort's aunts who always adored him: Marjorie Salathe, Julie Bigg Veazey and William Veazey of NH and Pixie Bigg Cushman and Donna Barthe of ME; his cousins who were his friends and compadres all his life: Julie Alexenberg, Sharon Stevens, Debra Horning, Ralph Stevens, Jonathan Bennett, Susan Tremblay and Sara Gamache; and his cherished friends: Dr. Johanna Yen, his Chinese mother; Mary Seaman of Turner Center, ME, Greg and Maureen Brooks, of Sebring, FL, Nubia Belton of Plantation, FL, Peter Cushman of Oxford, ME, Bobby Meek of Portsmouth, NH and Linwood Beauford of Turner Center, ME.
He was preceded in death by his father, Dort S. Bigg Jr., his grandparents, Julie and Dort Bigg, his uncles David Bennett, Robert Salathe, and Ralph Stevens and his friend and mentor, Howard L. Simmons, Ph.D.

A Liturgy of the Word service will be celebrated on Monday November 4th at 10:00 AM in Ste. Marie Church, 378 Notre Dame Street, Manchester, NH. Burial service will be held at the Centerville cemetery in Turner Center, ME on Tuesday November 5, 2019 at 2 PM, followed by a gathering at the Turner Center Bigg Homestead. In lieu of flowers, Father Dort A. Bigg has requested that donations be sent to a choice of the following: St. Crispin Friary, the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, 420 E. 156th Street, Bronx, NY 10455 (franciscanfriars.com), the Atlantic Institute of Oriental Medicine, 100 E. Broward Blvd., Ste 100, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, or the American Cancer Society. Phaneuf Funeral Homes and Crematorium, Manchester is in charge of arrangement. To view and on-line Tribute or for more information, go to www.phaneuf.net