Unique Calgary company ‘Capturing Legacies’ sets out to preserve memories for generations to come

“We all have great stories to tell…it’s time to tell yours.”

That’s the philosophy behind a unique Calgary company that’s in the process of getting off the ground.

The company offers story writing and project management service to produce “the life story of any person, company, place or thing.”

Capturing Legacies is the brain child of Al Del Degan, a Calgarian who lost his job during the economic downturn.

Del Degan brought on another casualty of the economy, Liam Rathgeber, as a partner.

Del Degan said the idea came to him while listening to his 83-year-old grandfather tell stories about his life at a family event.

He said he did some research and was surprised to discover there really isn’t anyone out there that formally does life stories for the average guy.

“We want to make sure that those stories are never forgotten – they deserve to be remembered,” Del Degan said.

“Those stories, they’re not just interesting, they’re important,” Rathgeber added.

To help kickstart their company, Del Degan and Rathgeber have been working on a project to highlight the life stories of a Calgary sports broadcasting legend – the late Ed Whalen, who died in December 2001.

Whalen was also known as the ring-side host of Stampede Wrestling and as the voice of the Calgary Flames hockey team.

“Having a big name sort of on the books, as it were, is going to lend us that extra bit of credibility that if they can do it for him, they can do it for us,” Rathgeber said.

As part of their agreement with Whalan family members, all proceeds from the project will go to the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation, a charity near and dear to Whalen’s heart.

When completed this fall, people will be able to purchase book copies of the project, titled A Story Not Forgotten.