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Mike Grant posted a condolence
Tuesday, January 12, 2021
Pam, Danielle and family, please accept my deepest condolences. Dick was a wonderful man.
Dick hired me into the mines rehabilitation group of the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines in 1998. From then until his retirement, he provided a superb place to work; Dick made the nights I spent cramming for my interview the best investment I made in my working life. He set high expectations for himself and his staff and then watched carefully to make sure we did not get in over our heads. I learned the value of an open door, delegating with trust and results-based management from his example. Trust was the key--he trusted in and was trusted by his staff.
There are many of us who remember and admire Dick as a leader and a friend. When gatherings are possible again, there will be toasts to his memory.
Mike Grant,
Thunder Bay
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John Andrews uploaded photo(s)
Tuesday, January 5, 2021
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Dick Cowan
Dick was a friend, a colleague, a former student and a gift to us all.
I first met Dick in 1963 when he applied for a summer position with the then Geographical Branch of the Canadian Government. He was accepted and assigned to a research group that I was leading to work on the Quaternary geology of the area around the northern edge of the Barnes Ice Cap, Baffin Island. Dick was a student at Carleton University and knew Martha (Andrews) who was an instructor at that time. She remembers that Dick joked that he was accepted for the summer program because he knew how to operate a radio. A continuation of that joke was of course that our single side band radio contact was intermittent at best and usually non-existent. It did lead to one funny incidence where we radioed “the field party is very merry”, which we were led to understand caused consternation in Ottawa as it came across as “the field party had Beriberi” ---we blamed Dick’s accent! We flew out in late May, landed on the lake ice, unloaded the gear, and did not see another soul until late July/early August when enough lake had melted for a float plane to land. We had intermittent short-wave radio contact with the DEW Line stations. Dick proved his mettle in what could be trying times, with a wry sense of humour and a calm disposition. Three of us in the 1963 paper had undertaken MSc theses at the McGill Sub-Arctic Research Station and possibly because we had really appreciated the experience Dick followed suite. His MSc thesis was published as a paper in the Canadian Journal of Earth Science in 1968. The Director of the Lab. at the time was Peter Adams, who went on to be, amongst other things, a Member of Parliament. Peter and Dick kept in contact until Peter’s death in 2018. Dick and Pam turned up, with my encouragement, at the University of Colorado in 1971 and completed his PhD in 1975.
Dick was one of a cadre of students who in the early 1970’s set the University of Colorado on the road to be one of the premier Quaternary studies programs in North America and indeed the world. His Doctoral Dissertation “Stratigraphy and Quantitative analysis of Wisconsinan Till, Brantford-Woodstock area, Ontario, Canada” was supported by the Ontario Geological Survey. Dick’s career with the Ontario Geological Survey resulted in the publication of several map sheets and reports as well as publications in peer reviewed journals. One of his lasting contributions is in the coauthored chapter in the Decade of North American Geology (1989) on the Quaternary history of the Canadian Shield.
Later on Martha and I were fortunate to have Dick and Pam visit Boulder several times as their son-in-law David and daughter Paula moved to Boulder for his PhD. This resulted in several get-togethers and occasions to re-live both the Baffin days as well as experiences at McGill. In recent years we have kept in touch by exchanging several emails per year and of course the annual Xmas letters. Dick was a dear friend to both Martha and myself. We will miss him.
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Kim Rossi posted a condolence
Saturday, December 26, 2020
Dear Pam and family.
We would like to extend to all of you our most sincere sympathy. May you find comfort in all of your wonderful memories of your time with Dick. Pam, I hope you are doing ok.
Kim Rossi and David Lapierre
Sudbury ON
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Craig Morrison posted a condolence
Friday, December 25, 2020
Dick Cowan was a decent man. From the first moment of meeting him, you sensed many things. For one, he was fiercely intelligent. Not in a scary way, but a "I want to stay on my toes around this guy" kind of way. Incisively witty, quick and direct, Dick's presence was keenly felt. His ability to be right there, right now, with you and nobody else, is a quality very few others own.
Dick and I met when he and Pam were part of a larger gathering where my wife and I hosted. I started barbecuing and Dick followed me out to keep me company. Well, the mosquitoes were instantly horrendous. We killed and killed them as I slowly worked at my task as BBC cook and Dick just stayed there with me. They were so bad. He never made a move to go inside. I offered. He was one tough guy.
I'll miss the occasional dinners we shared. And I'll miss his wide set eyes. I'm sorry Pam.
Much Love.
Craig Morrison
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Kim and PJ Burns lit a candle
Thursday, December 24, 2020
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We heard today about Dick's passing. Our Parkinson support group really loved Dick. He was always out at the McLeod park track walking with us. He was a force to be reckoned with but there was also that twinkle and grin that went along with his walk. Pam, we are here. Much love Kim and PJ Burns
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David Constable posted a symbolic gesture
Thursday, December 24, 2020
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Pam and Family,
I only heard about Dick's passing today. It brought back so many memories of working with Dick at MNDM. He was a kind, generous boss and he had a wicked sense of humour. He was a shrewd observer of human nature and an always supportive manager. When you worked for Dick the work culture was a happy place to be. Everyone felt safe, valued and listened to. Dick's door was always open. He was the ideal, honest, fair civil servant who brought the best to public service. He had an office filing system very similar to mine, piles of papers on any flat surface. However, he could just stick his hand into any pile of papers and retrieve the exact paper he was looking for at that moment. I never did learn how he did that miracle. I know his passing will leave a hole in your lives, but warm memories of a good and faithful servant will help fill those dark moments. I will remember Dick with respect as a colleague, mentor and friend.
Dave & Dorothy Constable
Burlington, ON
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Norman and Mary Lou Trowell posted a condolence
Thursday, December 24, 2020
Our condolences to Pam and family. Dick was well liked and respected by all who new him. He will be greatly missed by all his friends here in Sudbury
Peg Scherzinger posted a condolence
Wednesday, December 23, 2020
I would like to extend condolences to Pam and family. Dick was a great neighbour and we missed him and Pam when they moved out west.
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Lauren & Carlo Castrechino lit a candle
Tuesday, December 22, 2020
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Pam, Wendy, Dan & Paula - So sorry for your loss. Dick was a wonderful and warm person.
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Arbutus Funeral Service lit a candle
Tuesday, December 22, 2020
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The family of William Richard Cowan uploaded a photo
Tuesday, December 22, 2020
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