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1980 Joe Leary presents Dolly Parton gift to Terry Fox.

Photo courtesy Joe Leary

Meeting Terry Fox

By Joe Leary

Published 12:36 PDT, Fri October 25, 2024

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In February I devoted a column to my friend Bill Vigars on his recently-published memoir, Terry and Me: The Inside Story of Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope.

It’s a captivating recollection that chronicles the incredible achievements of the heroic Canadian; the 22-year-old cancer survivor and amputee who attempted to run across Canada and raise funds for cancer research.

Vigars was the representative deployed by the Canadian Cancer Society to accompany Fox and his team and assist them in garnering publicity along the way. He joined them in Edmunston, New Brunswick on June 9, 1980—58 days into the historic ‘Marathon of Hope’.

Given the primitive prosthetic he wore, much is known about Fox’s grueling campaign and the untold pain and discomfort he would endure.

In Vigars book, he revealed numerous insights of Terry’s life on the road; including some of the lighter moments of his playful nature as the two ended up spending inordinate amounts of time together. Vigars told me that he was encouraged numerous times over the years to put pen to paper and tell these stories while he still could.

The book was published in August 2023 and became a national best-seller.

One of my last in-person interactions with Bill came last summer; where he signed a copy for me and told me how grateful he was for all of us in his life in media and journalism that helped keep Terry’s image fresh in the hearts and minds of Canadians from Coast to Coast.

On October 10, Bill Vigars passed away of congestive heart failure at the age of 78. I am so saddened by his loss and will miss his wit and wisdom.

Fortunately, he put pen to paper and Terry’s life and times can be shared by even more generations of Canadians.

I first met Bill Vigars in the 1990’s. In my capacity as a radio broadcaster, I would have him appear on my show in a number of interviews over the years.

He would always make himself available to talk about Terry Fox and his incredible legacy, each and every year on anniversary occasions of the ‘Marathon of Hope’.

Bill and I really bonded after I shared my personal story of meeting Terry Fox in 1981. It’s an encounter that remains near and dear when I reflect back on those notables who I have had the good fortune to cross paths with in my media career.

During the ‘Marathon of Hope’, a business colleague and I were working with the Cancer Society on staging a Black-Tie Dinner in Vancouver to celebrate the return home of Terry Fox upon completion of his cross Canada journey.

That eventuality came to a heartbreaking conclusion on Sept. 1, 1980 when Terry Fox was forced to cancel his run in Thunder Bay, Ontario and return home for more treatment after cancer re-emerged.

In the lead-up to planning our ‘Welcome Home’ event; set for Nov. 14, 1980 at Vancouver’s Hyatt Regency Hotel, I learned that Terry was enamored with country singing legend Dolly Parton.

Armed with this knowledge, we contacted Dolly’s management to see if we could possibly enlist her to perform at our gala. Unfortunately, Dolly’s touring schedule didn’t align with our chosen date but upon learning of Terry Fox and his heroic undertaking, she immediately sent an autographed photo with inspiring words of support. The plan was to present it to Terry at the aforementioned gala.

When it became apparent that Terry’s prognosis was not encouraging, the Cancer Society invited us to a hastily-called press conference so that we could present the picture of Dolly Parton to him personally and hopefully he could draw some comfort from it.

While my encounter with Terry Fox was brief, he struck me as kind, gracious and humble. He appeared slighter in build than I had anticipated but genuine and the smile that radiated when he read the autographed caption remains one of my fondest moments in life.

Terry’s incredible legacy endures and Bill Vigars had recently told me that the Terry Fox Foundation is nearing one billion dollars raised since the ‘Marathon of Hope’ began in 1980.

I will miss Bill Vigars but I take solace in the fact that he’s reunited with Terry Fox once again.

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