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Gary R. COGSWELL
Cottage Grove, Minnesota
Age 88, of Cottage Grove Passed away peacefully on Thursday, June 14, 2018
with his son and daughter-in-law by his side. Preceded in death by beloved
wife, Shirley. Survived by loving son, Scott (Kasey); grandchildren, Caty
and Nic; great granddaughter, Anila; and best little buddy, Tucker.
Visitation 4-7 PM, Monday, June 25, 2018 at Kok Funeral Home, 7676 80th St.
S., Cottage Grove, MN, 55016. Mass of Christian Burial 11 AM, with
visitation beginning at 10 AM, Tuesday, June 26, 2018 at St. Thomas Aquinas
Catholic Church, 920 Holley Ave., St. Paul Park, MN, 55071. Interment with
military honors to follow at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. 651-459-2483
Published in Pioneer Press on June 17, 2018
John H. "Jack" Cogswell
Needham, Massachusetts
Oct 18, 1933 – Jun 1, 2018
ohn H. ("Jack") Cogswell of Needham (formerly of Chatham) passed away
peacefully on Friday, June 1, 2018 with his daughters by his side. Beloved
husband for 59 years of Patricia A. "Pat" (Morrissey) Cogswell. Jack is
survived by his daughters Julie A. Stone of Amesbury, Catherine J. Sanders
and her husband Timothy P. Sanders of Uxbridge as well as his three
grandsons, Jacob A. Stone, Isaac J. Stone and Kiernan J. Sanders.
Born and raised in northern New York, Jack lived most of his adult life in
Needham, Massachusetts where he raised his family. Jack was a proud
graduate of Dartmouth College, class of 1955 and member of the Alpha Theta
fraternity. He obtained his Masters of Science in Civil Engineering from
Dartmouth's Thayer School of Engineering in 1956. He served in the Army
Reserves from 1956 through 1963, achieving the rank of Captain.
Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, in 1956 he began
his 34-year career at the New England Telephone Company, later known as
NYNEX. His first position at the company was as a pole climber; by the time
he retired in 1990, he had achieved the position of Secretary & Treasurer.
Jack loved Needham, which was obvious to anyone who knew him. He and his
family lived in Needham four separate times between 1956 and 2018, with the
bulk of that time spent in the John Mills house on Great Plain Ave. The
final few years of Jack's life were spent in North Hill.
Starting in 1975, Jack served as a Needham Town Meeting Member (where his
"bubble speech" will go down in infamy). For the next 40 years, he became
involved in more and more committees and Boards within the town, serving on
the Planning Board, the Board of Appeals and the Board of Selectman as well
as several sub-committees. Jack was also the host of the "Talk of the Town"
TV show on the Needham Channel. He felt strongly that there were aspects of
the Town infrastructure and Government that the residents didn't
necessarily understand but should. He loved making these shows and was
proud of the many compliments he received from the town residents.
Another passion of his was the Needham Historical Society (now called the
Needham History Center & Museum). From 1975 until his death in 2018, Jack
was actively involved with the organization, serving at times as Treasurer,
Director and Trustee of the endowment fund. This organization was important
to him as was the preservation of the history of Needham.
Jack extended his love to the town of Chatham in his retirement years. In
2010, Jack and Pat bought a small Cape house in Chatham where they would
spend their winters. As he said, once the "tourists took over Chatham, they
would return to the safety of Needham". Not surprisingly, Jack became
involved in the Chatham town politics during those years, participating in
several sub-committees focused on the town infrastructure and financing and
helping to recruit others to do likewise.
Jack's accomplishments were not limited to local politics. He was also very
influential in Massachusetts Healthcare. His passion for the healthcare
industry began when he was the Secretary & Treasurer of the New England
Telephone Company. It was during this time that he started focusing on the
company benefit packages. From 1983 until the end of his life, he was
actively engaged in healthcare-related organizations. Some of his most
important accomplishments in this area include:
• He was instrumental in forming the Health Action Forum, a coalition of
all participants in healthcare in the Greater Boston area.
• He led the effort to merge the Glover Hospital with the Deaconess Medical
Center of Boston, which enabled both hospitals to establish a profitable
business model and successful model for hospital collaboration across the
state.
• He was an incorporator of the Neighborhood Health Plan; an H.M.O. based
on Community Health Centers which serves the inner cities of Massachusetts.
• For nearly two decades, Jack helped manage the MDA Labor Day Telethon at
Boston's Channel 5 studio.
In addition to these, Jack served on many other healthcare committees,
consortiums and groups, represented the business community on many
governmental and legislative healthcare committees and received countless
awards including "volunteer of the year" in 1992 from the Combined Health
Appeal of America. In 2010, the Town of Needham held a tribute to Jack for
all the work he had done over the years. State Representatives and Town
Representatives, not only from Needham, but neighboring towns, came to the
event to thank him and show their appreciation for him.
But Jack wasn't "all about work". He and his wife loved to go to the
Brandywine area of Pennsylvania to explore "Wyeth's world". They also
enjoyed San Francisco, New Orleans and the Cayman Islands. Internationally,
they took time to explore Scotland, England, Prague and Budapest. But the
place where he spent most of his vacations with his family was Monhegan
Island in Maine. He loved wandering the cliffs and sitting in his "spots"
on the rocks watching the seals, seagulls and waves, walking the miles of
trails and enjoying the peace of the Island.
A Memorial Service followed by a reception will be held at the Christ
Episcopal Church in Needham, MA on June 21 at 11am. In lieu of flowers,
donations in Jack's name may be made to the Needham History Center &
Museum, 1147 Central Ave, Needham, MA 02492.