Third row up, correspondents Barbara Crossette, David Wigg and Rick Fredericksen of CBS News blend in with the locals at a cultural event in Isan in 1986. (Photo by Dominic Faulder)
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand extends its deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of David Wigg, the veteran journalist based in Bangkok in the 1980s, and husband of Barbara Crossette of The New York Times
Wigg died peacefully in his sleep in Pennsylvania in early September at the age of 86. The couple married in 1978, and returned for month-long visits to Southeast Asia for many years after their 1984 to 1988 posting in Thailand.
"David was a well-liked and respected journalist and a member of the FCCT when he and Barbara were based in Bangkok,” said Denis Gray, The Associated Press bureau chief in the Thai capital for many decades.
“Stories from both of them about our region were superb -- not only the news coverage but also many well crafted and meaningful features,” Gray recalled.
Wigg was born in Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk, East England, and gained his masters degree from the University of Hull. As a journalist, he reported from Latin and North America, Southeast Asia and India for many British and American newspapers, including The Times of London. He also wrote reports on development for the World Bank.
Known for his wit and good humour, Wigg enjoyed classical and jazz music, and played the piano. An avid reader, he had an encyclopedic knowledge of 20th century history, and was always a perceptive observer of current events.
Crossette’s award-winning book ‘The Great Hill Stations of Asia’ was published in 1998. “I took three months off to do this book, and I went by myself because it was a lot of sort of hard-slog travel,” Crossette recalled in a radio interview.
“My husband's not totally happy always in South Asia – he would have probably come along to Southeast Asia,” she said, crediting his other contributions.
“Through him, I learned a lot about the British empire,” she recalled. “The sort of folklore that's carried around in the heads of a lot of Britons who have either family or a personal or a neighborhood or whatever connection with empire.”
Wigg is survived by his wife of 46 years, son Jonathan Wigg, sister Mary Hunt and brother Michael Wigg, stepson Jonathan Crossette and his wife Linda, grandchildren Nathan and Emily Crossette, and great granddaughter Barbara Yonts.
Stay Connected With FCCT
Join our mailing list or visit our events page to see what’s coming up at the club.
