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John Cousins

January 20, 2014

It is with great regret we announce the death of John Cousins, former owner of “That Craft Store” John Albert Cousins (born September 26, 1946 in Oshawa Ontario) changed the direction of his path and bid us farewell on January 20, 2014. John had a gentle heart and a loving disposition and was able to instill those qualities in his home life, his work and especially in his play. Every occupation John embraced had a community minded purpose. After serving in the Royal Canadian Navy he attended and graduated from Laurentian University, John worked for a time as a social worker in Wetaskiwin Alberta. Later he began the Handi-Dart transit system in Victoria. His participation in this project literally improved the lives of thousands of Handi-Dart users. He then moved on to become a transit planner, introducing then enhancing transit systems throughout British Columbia, and a school bus system for the municipality of Maple Ridge. John thoroughly enjoyed spending vacation time in Hawaii, Bali and Mexico. John’s last professional project was to purchase That Craft Store in Nelson. Though not a knitter, he was a quick study, and introduced beautiful natural fibre yarns to the local knitting community. Within the first two years of operation, That Craft Store became the largest yarn store in the Kootenays, and John created a welcoming, positive environment for all local crafters. He was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in 2010 and with great sadness, shut the store down on December 31, 2011. He moved to Victoria in early 2012 to be close to his children. John is survived by his partner Tony, his brothers Allan and Bruce and sister Joyce, his children Bryan, Graham, Erinn, and Kendra, and grandchildren Jared, Sebastian, Scottie, and Sienna. Sincere thanks to Dr. Jeanette Boyd in Nelson and Dr. Graeme Macaulay in Kelowna for their heartfelt concern and support. And to all his friends in the Kootenays, John loved the good times he shared with you and towards the end of his life, memories of you and that magical place in the mountains provided special joy.



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