Carew Edmund Cosgrove

The shock and speed with which Carew's illness progressed has left us, his immediate family, absolutely gutted. We will grieve for him and mourn him for many years. While the pain will lesson over time, the feelings we have now need to be acknowledged. Pain, sadness, confusion, anger, panic, anxiety-these emotions are overwhelming.

Today, however, we put aside these emotions and turn to honoring our husband and father.

Carew was born in Vancouver, BC, to Ed and Kathleen Cosgrove (nee Ferguson). He was the third generation of Cosgrove men with the name of "Carew" as either the first or second name. The name Carew is Irish in origin-although it was several generations before a woman named Jeanette (Jenny) Carew met and married a man named John Lewis Cosgrove, in 1892.

Carew was the oldest of 4 sons. He and brothers Kevin, Mark and Sean, moved from Vancouver to Toronto, Ontario, when their father got a job with the CBC. Formative years were spent in Scarborough, Ontario, where Carew's interest in military type activities was forged during the many hours he and his brothers played soldier type games.

Carew's love of motorcycles was first ignited after watching the movie 'The Great Escape'. His first bike was a Triumph Bonneville, made popular by Steve McQueen in that movie. After a brief flirtation with a Yamaha, Carew settled on the Harley Davidson as his signature motorcycle and would go on to own several different models throughout his life.

Riding his bike gave Carew a sense of freedom and escape from a job that was risky and stressful. Carew worked for Corrections Canada for 30 years at Kent and Mountain Institutions. He spent several years in other enforcement roles before that including provincial corrections, BC Sheriffs, military police with Canadian Reserved Armed Forces, and the Toronto Police. Carew was very dedicated to these roles and chose working directly with inmates or the public rather than pursue managerial opportunities. He had a strong moral code and was dependable and calm in stressful situations.

Carew met his loving wife Dana in 1986, and they married in 1989. They had two children, Jesse (31) and Jenny (26). A bird, cat and dog completed the family. We have many fond memories of family vacations, outings and activities.

We Cosgrove's share a weird sense of humour and enjoy irreverent comedies, particularly while munching on pizza!

To Those Who Mourn

(an excerpt)

For that is the real truth;

man is a soul and has a body

The body is not the man; it is only

the clothing of a man.

What you call death is the laying aside

Of a worn-out garment, and it is no more

The end of the man than it is the end of you

When you remove your coat.

Therefore you have not lost your friends;

You have only lost sight of the cloak in which you

Were accustomed to see him.

The cloak is gone, but the man who

Wore it is not;

Surely it is the man that you love and not

The garment.

C.W Leadbeater