Julian Wiggins werd geboren in Utrecht op 16 januari 1994. Zijn ouders/opvoeders waren Corine de Ruiter en Joseph Wiggins. Julian volgde in San Diego aan de San Diego State University een studie Business Administration and Management. Julian was vanaf 2021 werkzaam bij de AyaHealthcare als Senior Recruiter & Fulfillment Specialist. Zijn vrije tijd besteedde hij graag aan muziek en planten verzorgen. Op sportief gebied stak hij zijn energie in fitness en darts. De laatste woonplaats van Julian was Las Vegas.

Julian was born January 16, 1994 at Schillerlaan 5 in Utrecht. Julian was a cute, lively baby with a generous smile. Grandpa Joe and Grandma Joanie Wiggins were particularly thrilled because Julian was 'the heir to the Wiggins throne'. Oma Betsy and Opa Peter welcomed their first grandchild at an especially difficult time, because Peter was diagnosed with nonHodgkin lymphoma around the time of Julian's birth.
When Julian was 3, Joseph decided he did not want to continue his relationship with Corine. This was very difficult for Julian who was a highly sensitive child. Joseph and Corine maintained a collaborative co-parenting arrangement, but Julian had to make many adjustments, to living in two homes and to new stepparents. From an early age, Julian was a curious child who wanted to learn about other cultures and art. After reading about Egyptian gods and mummies, he kept asking when we would go to Egypt, which we did when he was 8. Julian was a guide that took us to interesting places. Corine and Julian went on annual trips and visited Rome, Barcelona, Dublin, Milan, New York City, Berlin, Istanbul and The Gambia together.
By far the most distressing event that happened in Julian’s life was the 18-month long battle with pancreatic cancer and death of his beloved father Joseph in 2007. He was courageous and shared his feelings of anxiety and despair with his friends. He entered therapy with Marieke Beekman, to cope with this loss and his depression. Still, these teenage years were also happy and adventurous times: summer vacations were spent in France, Italy and the USA with dear friends Leo and Jona. In 2012, Julian obtained his high school diploma with a 7.6 average. He decided to take a gap year, and took on different jobs. He gained lots of practical skills, such as catering and floor renovation, and his bosses liked him for his dedication and friendliness.
In 2013, Julian started college at San Diego State University, a long-held dream to study in his Dad’s hometown and live closer to his American family members. He joined Phi Gamma Delta (‘Fiji’) fraternity. He was an active fraternity brother and served as the chapter’s vice-president in his junior year. He made friends for life, such as his ‘brother’ Eddie van Antwerp. Corine visited Julian as often as she could.
In 2018, he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Management. It was quite special that his Grandma Joanie and Grandpa Joe could attend the commencement ceremony. At the time, he was working at Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Julian was a hard worker and made it to branch manager quite quickly. His employees valued him, because he wanted everyone to be happy at their work. When he could no longer agree with Enterprise’s strategy of staff recruitment, he decided to look elsewhere. He joined Aya Healthcare, a travel nursing company, as a recruiter. Once again, he made promotion quickly and became a valued employee with important strategic contributions. Julian ‘had a knack for numbers’, but his social-emotional intelligence was as strong, which made him a wonderful mentor and collaborator. At Aya, he met his friend Kofi, and they made plans to start their own consulting company.
Julian regularly returned to the Netherlands to catch up with family and friends. As soon as he arrived in Utrecht, he was the ‘binding force’ that brought his high school friends together. During these ‘American’ years, Corine and Julian had frequent FaceTime conversations. They had discussions about life’s challenges, but also shared loud laughter about silly stuff. In the summer of 2022, Julian bought a house in Las Vegas, to have more living space, but also as an investment for the future.
And then, completely out of the blue for most of his loved ones, Julian had a major ‘spiritual emergency’ or ‘dark night of the soul’ at the beginning of August, while he was staying in Utrecht. Ferko and Corine were on holiday in Greece and were called in the middle of the night by our neighbor Aletha. He was admitted to the acute psychiatric ward of the University Medical Center. Corine and Julian went on walks and Julian wanted to share in detail what he had experienced. He had performed a ritual in our home, with candles, the ashes from the urns of his Dad and Corine’s father, orchid flowers, Buddha statues and other images. He had a Near Death Experience and was in contact with his Dad. He said that everything is (made of) love and that all the world religions share this core, albeit in different forms and traditions. He experienced a stronger connection to nature. With the same intensity that he demonstrated in other areas, he yearned to learn more about spirituality. For us, as family and friends who love him so much, his transition to the other side feels like an immeasurable loss. For Julian, it is a return to the love and peace of the Eternal Source.