Obituaries
Cowan, John Roderick
March 8, 2025
John Roderick Cowan passed away peacefully at home on March 8, 2025, at the age of 75, after facing increasing health challenges in recent years.
John was born to Lindsay Thomas and Belle Cowan (née Stuart) in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, attending Albert School, Nutana Collegiate, and the University of Saskatchewan. When his work brought him to Regina in 1983, he met Catherine Maloney through mutual friends. They married on the winter solstice in 1985, and raised their family together in Regina.
John’s range of interests, combined with his independent and self-reliant spirit, took his sales career into a variety of niches including real estate, greeting cards, countertops, home security systems, and portrait photography. He worked most substantially in wholesale lumber sales with Sauder Industries (Elswood). Later in life, he started his own business, Super Sharp Plus, providing mobile sharpening services throughout the city until his retirement.
John grew up in Saskatoon, spending summers at Waskesiu. His dedicated involvement with Scouts in his youth earned him the Queen’s Scout Award for exceptional skill achievement. As a young man, John traveled extensively throughout North America by motorcycle with friends. These adventures took him to Montreal for Expo 67 and down along the west coast into Mexico.
John was an active parent who supported his three children in all their youthful endeavours. Formally, he volunteered his time with their co-operative preschool board, and with Scouts Canada. Informally he was a talented amateur photographer, and was frequently the dad with the most serious camera on-site. He was a longstanding member of the Wesley United Church community, devoting many hours to the Property Committee, and was a mainstay for operating the sound system on Sundays.
A John-of-all-trades, he was an experienced and adept handyman, always with several projects on the go. He had a keen eye for detail, and appreciated a job well-done. John valued quality materials, especially at a good price. He was also highly observant and had a quiet, quick wit.
Summers were largely spent at the family cabin on Emma Lake, in both his youth and adult life. He shared his enjoyment for fishing, boating, reading, stargazing and the occasional water sport with his family and brother Sèann. John also leaves behind a tangible legacy at the cabin through countless building and maintenance projects.
John was predeceased by his parents Lindsay and Belle; as well as his siblings Sèann, Tom (John), and Mary Lynn; and nephews Fraser and Scott. His memory will live on in the hearts of those who knew him, including his wife Catherine; their children Hilarey, Ian (Lan-Anh), and Neil; brother-in-law Murray; along with many other friends and family.
The family would like to thank Dr. Kuzmicz and the staff of the Family Medicine Unit, as well as the caregivers, nurses, and staff from both Home Care and Intermediate Care Services for their dedicated and compassionate care.
Memorial Service will be held on Tuesday, April 8, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. in Harmony United Church, 177 Sunset Drive, Regina, Saskatchewan. Live streaming of the service may be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/@HarmonyUnited177/streams. In lieu of flowers, donations in John’s memory may be made to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Lung Saskatchewan, or the Alzheimer Society of Saskatchewan.
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Condolences
Kevin Jaques and Paula Sostorics
Regina Saskatchewan Canada
Hi Catherine. So sorry to hear about this. Sincere condolences.
Leanne Kettle
Regina Beach Sk
Condolences to you Catherine and families.
Colin Wedgwood
North Vancouver BC CA
John was my first friend. The Cowans lived across the alley from us and one day when I was exploring in my yard, there was John on the other side of the fence. We played a lot of board games in the early days and the competitive spirit was intense. At first, we played Monopoly, a game could last for days. One time in the middle of a game he had to go to the dentist so his brother Tom sat in for him. I tried a couple of maneuvers that gave me a large advantage because Tom did not know the game and when John returned he could not recover his status. Jeez he was mad!
John's family took me with them to some competitive dog trials. The excitement was based on their dog Jet, a black lab. John's father trained the dog, too bad, but I don't remember if he won. One time when I was in Saskatoon I visited John and there was a new black lab and John named him Jet. The dog was very well trained, I wonder if John learned how to train a dog from his father.
John and I had two substantial camping adventures, one was a motorcycle trip to Portland, Oregon, and the other was a wilderness canoe trip in Northern Saskatchewan. One included fishing for girls and the other, fishing for fish. Banff was the highlight of the bike ride; we met some people who worked there and one of them had jumped a freight train to get there. John made friends with a cook working in one of the restaurants so we would wait until they closed and he would bring us steaks at the back door which we cooked on the stove in the public shelter. Did you know that when you ride in a box car with an open door, you have to carry a piece of wood to jam the door so it won't close?
We both were organized and diligent so there were no setbacks for all those miles. John was always very professional in managing his surroundings. We were having problems with mid-day wind and waves so we got into the habit of getting an early start. One morning after canoeing for a while, we were doing a portage and we came across some acquaintances of his in a small campground who were just starting their day and getting out of their tents, so we decided to have breakfast in their camp. John told me later that those people were in awe of our syncopated process for making a fire and breakfast with minimal equipment and no words necessary.
One of my best memories of John is that he had a very great group of friends. I would run into his group at parties and dances and one time I stayed with them at Emma Lake because I was working in Waskesui the next night.
My most frequent memory of John comes from something he invented and something today I use. Hot dogs with peanut butter! I don't eat them any other way and I think of him every time.
They say you can judge a man by the quality of his friends and John was definite proof of this. He will be missed. I am very sad at losing my first and longest held friend.
Colin Wedgwood North Vancouver
Crystal and Blaine Dodds
Regina Saskatchewan Canada
Our deepest sympathies.
Gene and Dorothy Josephson
Regina Saskatchewan Canada
Hi Catherine. We’re so sorry for your loss. Our regards to you and your family. Gene and Dorothy.
Tammy
Regina Saskatchewan Canada
My deepest sympathy to you and your family.
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