Obituary
Sylvia Martel Bigbee

Sylvia Martel Bigbee passed away on Sunday, February 20, 2022 at Wake Med Hospital in Raleigh, NC after suffering complications from a fall. She was proceeded in death by her devoted and loving husband James “Buddy” Woodrow Bigbee who passed Sunday, June 7, 2020 from lung disease. Sylvia was born in June 2, 1948 just after WWII in Wiesbaden, Germany to her mother Marta Oppermann, and moved to Washington, DC in 1960. Buddy and Sylvia met through mutual friends not long after Sylvia arrived in DC and joined together as one in marriage on October 1, 1965. As they began their journey in life, Buddy’s family embraced Sylvia, giving her the family she had never had, full of life and love, deeply rooted in God’s faith. After raising their family in Maryland and closing the family printing business, they set out for a new adventure in North Carolina were they forged new friendships and enjoyed spending time with their growing family. Sylvia and Buddy were the daughter and son-in-law of the late Marta Oppermann, son and daughter in-law to the late John Bigbee and Penny Bigbee, the loving parents to Daniel Bigbee, Michele Smith (Bigbee) and Donna White DeLay (Bigbee), in-laws to Mark Smith and Erik DeLay, brother and sister-in-law to Kirsten Morisi (Bigbee) and Donald Morisi, to the late Babs Norwood (Bigbee), the late Gene Norwood, and the late Johnny Bigbee. They were Omi and Papa to their most precious love of all, their grandchildren, Jessica White, Benjamin White, Rachel Bigbee, James Smith, and Rebecca Baker (Smith) and great-granddaughters, Adilyn Smith and Ava Baker. They will forever be in our thoughts and hearts. Due to the pandemic restrictions, the family was unable to hold services for Buddy so they felt it was only appropriate to hold a memorial service for both Buddy and Sylvia at Lee’s Funeral Home in Owings, Maryland in a celebration of their life together, their reunion in heaven, and their eternal love. If you wish to make a donation in their memory in lieu of flowers, please consider donating to CAWL, Calvert Animal Welfare League or the American Lung Association.