Charles Anthony de Cosson

Lieutenant Commander with the British Royal Navy during World War II,

Knight of Malta, Baron, died peacefully in his sleep, at home in West

Vancouver on Thursday June 9, 2011, six months shy of his centenary.

Born on December 22, 1911 in Cairo, Egypt, where his parents Claude

Augustus de Cosson (engineer with the British/ Egypt Public Works

Dept)and Euretta de Cosson (nee Kirkbride, from Philadelphia PA) were

residing. As a young boy, Tony lived in Florence, Italy, and attended

school in Great Britain, first at Downside and then reading Modern

Languages at Trinity College, Cambridge.

Tony was proud of his family heritage, a family tree reaches back to

1101. A notable ancestor was the Chevalier Honoré Francois de Cosson,

guillotined in 1794, for not being able to choose between King and the

emerging French State – his wife Genevieve died shortly after of a broken

heart. Baron Charles Alexander de Cosson,(1846-1929) was a distinguished

collector and authority on arms and armour (coll: Royal Armouries,

England) and Joseph Bonomi,(1739 -1808) architect, whose granddaughter

Cecilia married Charles Alexander in 1876. Tony's mother, Euretta, was a

direct descendant of the pre-colonial Quaker preacher Joseph Kirkbride

who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1682, whose family was active in interests

of the Society of Friends and public service in both Pennsylvania and New

Jersey.

Commanding a converted Chinese River gunboat in the Mediterranean during

the war, Tony was often stationed in Alexandria, Egypt, where he met his

future wife. With his language skills and experience he was also sent

into covert sensitive missions in Yugoslavia and Italy. Joy Lloyd, who

was working with the British SOE (later MI 5) and was stationed in

Alexandria for most of the war, finally accepted his proposal of marriage

while passing Gibraltar on the vessel transporting them both back from

theatres of war. Married at St James' Spanish Place in London, December

16, 1944, they were bombed on their wedding night!

After the war, Tony joined Lloyds of London, and moved to Vancouver,

Canada in 1949. As a marine underwriter, he managed Coast Underwriters

until his retirement in 1976. A long time member of the Marine

Underwriters Association of British Columbia, he was the Chair of the

organization for a number of years.

Tony was a gifted athlete and lover of the natural world. In his youth

he excelled at swimming and diving, he sailed and skied for Cambridge in

1932, trained for Olympic skiing events a few years later and took up

Yoga in midlife. He continued to enjoy physical pursuits throughout his

life. From the early days of hiking up good ski hills (before chair

lifts) in Europe and later in B.C., to annual family skiing vacations,

and many,many ski trips with his sister Rettles and her family, skiing

was a joy for Tony. In 1962,in his 50s, he took to annual helicopter

skiing adventures with Canadian Mountain Holidays and was one of the

earliest supporters of back country skiing in the mountain ranges of

British Columbia. In 1970 he sailed back from Hawaii with his son, Alex,

aged 16 and 2 other crew members under the captain-ship of a close family

friend Guy Dutton in the 36-foot sloop Aquilon. At the Hollyburn Club,

he was still swimming at 98, and over his long membership he swam the

equivalent mileage to cross Canada several times

Friends and family will remember his vigour, his charm, and his green

thumb with his fantastic vegetable garden which fed us all. Tony was a

parishoner at St. Anthony's Catholic Church for over 60 years, and was

invested with the Knights of Malta in 1965, supporting their tenets of

service to the sick and poor. Many will also remember his quiet words of

wisdom in difficult moments, and his constant unassuming dignity.

Tony was predeceased by his loving wife of 62 years, Josephine (Joy)

Lloyd, and his sister, Euretta Rathbone of Cambridge, Mass. He is

survived by many relatives in the US, England, and Europe and by his 3

children; Anne de Cosson and her husband Larry Berg, Denman Island, Alex

de Cosson and his wife Jean Rasmussen, West Vancouver, and Pippa Woods

and her husband Tom, Tinton Falls, New Jersey; six grandchildren; Yasha,

Toby and Sebastian Berg, Nicolas, Thomas de Cosson and Kristin Golden.

'Cesca will miss her master and their walks together. The family would

like to recognize the loving care that Alex and Jean and their family

provided to both Tony and Joy in their final years, making it possible

for Tony to enjoy his beloved home and garden, and for the rest of his

family to know that he was where he wanted to be. The family also thanks

Anna Garcia for her warm and graceful care for Tony.

Funeral services will be held at St. Anthony's Parish Church, 2347

Inglewood Avenue, West Vancouver, Friday, June 17th at 11 am. Vigil

service will be held 7 pm Thursday June 16th at St.Anthony's Church. In

lieu of flowers, tax receipted donations can be made in his name to : The

Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Canadian Association, 1247 Kilborn

Place, Ottawa, ON K1H6K9