Obituary of Laurie Nisbet Cowan

After a short battle with cancer, Laurie passed away peacefully in his 75th year at the McKenney Creek Hospice in Maple Ridge on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010. He will be sadly missed by his beloved wife Margarete and his children David (Brenda), Ian (Patricia) and Norman (Deanna) as well as his grandchildren Megan and Melanie, Caitlin, Benjamin, Gabrielle, Mary-Beth, John, Thomas and James and Victoria and Nicholas. He will also be missed by his brother Teddy (Liz), nieces and nephews, extended family and friends. Laurie was a member of both the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Canadian Security Intelligence Service with a career spanning 34 years. Laurie joined the RCMP on June 18th, 1956. He was posted to various detachments within Canada including Toronto, Hamilton, Belleville and HQ Ottawa in 1967 where he transferred to the RCMP Foreign Services. As a member of Foreign Services he was posted to: Sydney, Australia; Nairobi, Kenya; Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago as well as relief duties in Hong Kong; Manila, Philippines and London, England. On July 15th, 1984, Laurie joined CSIS and continued his duty as a Foreign Service Officer with his final posting in Stockholm, Sweden until his retirement in August 1989 when he and Margarete retired to Maple Ridge, B.C. Laurie’s passion for golfing was followed closely by his gardening which was apparent to anyone who drove past their home. Cremation has taken place and a family celebration of Laurie’s life will be held at a later date. Donations to The Canadian Cancer Society would be greatly appreciated by the family. A special thanks to the staff at the Ridge Meadows Hospital 2 West and the McKenney Creek Hospice for the care given to Laurie.