Click here to subscribe today or Login.
Thomas Arlington Bigler, 85, of Edwardsville, died Friday in Heritage House Hospice.
Born in Terentum, Pennsylvania, June 4, 1921, Bigler was the eldest son of Francis Arlington Bigler and Katherine Florilla (Black) Bigler. He graduated from high school in Hazleton in 1939 and studied at Ithaca College from 1939-41. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Wilkes University in 1993.
Bigler began his broadcasting career during the summers of 1939-41, when he was a part-time announcer for WAZL radio in Hazleton. In 1942, Bigler enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force (ATC) where he spent most of his World War II service flying over India and Indochina. When he returned to the United States, he resumed his broadcasting career serving several radio stations as announcer and news director.
In 1948, Bigler became News Director for WILK-AM radio, and added Program Director to his title in 1953. In that same year, Bigler helped WILK radio transition to television, and he remained the television station’s news director until 1962. From 1962-1966, Bigler served as News Director for WNEP-TV, and in 1966, he became News Director and Vice President for News and Public Affairs at WBRE-TV, where he remained for two decades until he retired from full-time broadcasting in 1986. During his tenure at WBRE, Bigler led the station through a variety of major technological changes, as well as many major stories including the Agnes flood of 1972. Bigler is especially well known for his daily on air editorials.
Upon his retirement from broadcasting in 1986, Bigler became a regular columnist for the Times Leader, and endowed chair of the communications department at Wilkes University where he taught a variety of journalism courses including: basic and advanced news writing, editorial writing, ethics, and First Amendment law. Bigler also advised the student newspaper, The Beacon, and helped establish Wilkes University’s Thomas Shelburne Telecommunication Studio, a state-of-the-art television broadcasting center. Bigler retired from full-time teaching at Wilkes in 2001, at which point he became Professor Emeritus.
Bigler was an active community leader serving on numerous Boards of Directors including: the Osterhout Free Public Library, Family Service Association, the Wilkes-Barre Association for the Blind, Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce, Wilkes-Barre Human Relations Commission, Wyoming Valley Historical and Geological Society, Ethics Institute of NEPA, and the League of Women Voters. In addition, Mr. Bigler was co-founder and served on the Board of Leadership Wilkes-Barre. He was an active member of B’Nai B’rith Temple, Torch Club, NAACP, and the Pennsylvania Associate Press Broadcasters Association, for which he served as President from 1965-66.
In addition, Bigler received a variety of awards for work and service including: an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from King’s College (1983); the Silverblatt Award (1970); Distinguished Citizen Award from the City of Wilkes-Barre (1995); Ethics Institute of NEPA Achievement Award (1995); Family Service Association Community Service Award (1999) and Jewish Family Service Community Service Award (2005). In 2000, Wilkes University established an annual award for graduating seniors in journalism who embody
Bigler is survived by a brother and sister-in-law, Hal C. and Maggie Bigler of San Francisco, CA; stepsister, Mary Lou Eveland; and stepbrother Jay Spare, both of Hazleton; nieces, Carol Bigler Howes of Dallas, PA, Andria Sparks of Oakland, CA, Melinda Bigler of Pacifica, CA; and nephews Frank Bigler of Sweet Valley, PA; Jeffrey Bigler of Hawaii; Tim Bigler of Virginia; and Dan Robertson of San Diego, CA. He is preceded in death by his parents and brothers Vann E. Bigler and Bruce T. Bigler.
Private gravesite services will be held at Temple B’Nai B’rith cemetery. A public memorial service will also be held at Wilkes University’s Henry Student Center Grand Ballroom, 84 W. South Street, Wilkes-Barre, Monday, March 5 at 1 p.m. Memorial donations may be sent to either the Tom Bigler Scholar Fund at Wilkes University or the Osterhout Free Public Library.