Baha'i World Vol 19
ANGUS WELDON COWAN
1914-1986
The Baha'i World was saddened by the passing of Angus Cowan on 9 March 1986 in Invermere,
British Columbia, Canada, after a long struggle with cancer. Angus was particularly loved by
the native peoples of North America to whom he devoted a large part of his time teaching the
Faith.
Angus, who was born on 12 September 1914, received his primary school education in Bishopton and West Bolton, Quebec. He then attended high school in Knowlton, Quebec, following which he attended Macdonald College in St. Anne de Bellevue. From 1938 to 1942 he
sold life insurance, a field to which he returned from 1956 to 1960. In 1946, he was released
from the Air Force where he had served for two and a half years as an air frame mechanic,
and after taking classes at the University of Toronto for a few months, he was hired by IBM
for whom he worked in sales first in Toronto and later in Winnipeg (1950 to 1955) where he
managed the Electric Typewriter Division. He took an active interest in sports, serving as
captain of hockey and baseball teams, and was at various times a member of the Big Brothers
association, president of the John Howard Society, and Saskatchewan representative of the
national committee of the Canadian Corrections Association.
Asked about the circumstances of his becoming a Baha'i, Angus stated that in 1946 when
he had returned to university he was selling books in a book store to earn a little money.
'A customer by the name of John Robarts came in twice while I was on duty. I became his babysitter.
I met his daughter, Nina, aged about four, who taught me my first Baha'i lesson.
John and Audrey Robarts became friends to me and had lots of patience for three years
... Then Bobbie and I were ready to turn to Baha'u'llah. The happy day was 30 March
1949.'
Angus was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada in a by-election in
December 1953 after a vacancy had been created when John Robarts, whom Angus called his
spiritual guide and Baha'i father, and who was in October 1957 appointed a Hand of the Cause,
had pioneered with his family to Africa. After serving on the National Spiritual Assembly for
a period of fourteen years, Angus was appointed Auxiliary Board member for Saskatchewan,
Manitoba, North Dakota and Montana.
Always an extremely humble man, he liked to tell the story of how he became a member of
the Auxiliary Board. 'One of my greatest tests', he said, 'was that I couldn't consult, I always
felt like a fifth wheel on the National Spiritual Assembly because I wanted to be out in the
front lines of the Faith teaching, not consulting.' So, in 1968, when the Counsellors asked the
National Spiritual Assembly to recommend members of the Baha'i community to serve on
the Auxiliary Board, adding that the National Assembly should not overlook its own membership, Angus enthusiastically volunteered.
The following six years were described by Angus as the most exciting period of his Baha'i
life. Although he was given direction by Counsellor Lloyd Gardner, he said he was able to
go about teaching largely in his own way and at his own speed and was never slowed down
by the need for consultation. 'Lloyd probably wanted to consult with me at times,' he would
chuckle when relating the story, 'but, you see, I always tried to keep a few steps ahead of him
so he couldn't catch up to me.'
During those years Angus intensified his teaching activity among the indigenous peoples.
The deep love that he had borne for them all his life began to bear fruit in 1958 in the native
communities of Saskatchewan. He came to be so loved and respected by the native people of
Canada and the United States that the Tlingit tribe adopted him into the Eagle band and
bestowed upon him the name Yik-Gah (Great Greatgrandfather) during a ceremony which
took place at the 1978 Alaskan national convention and which was described in the Alaska
Baha'i News as the 'most unifying event of the convention'.
On a previous occasion Angus had been entrusted with the most treasured possessions
of a native Elder, Ed Poorman, of the Poorman Reserve in Saskatchewan. Following his first
meeting with Ed Poorman, the Elder gave him a sacred medicine pipe and a Queen Victoria
treaty, written on parchment and dated 1885.
Angus had the treaty document framed and returned it to Ed, but it was not until years
later that he fully realized the significance of the rare honour that had been bestowed upon
him when the sacred pipe was entrusted to his care.
Angus's personal good-humoured and informal style of teaching endeared him to many.
He constantly praised the efforts of others, and he would tell amusing stories about his own
'blunders' in order to demonstrate the principles of the Faith. He said that when Baha'u'llah
presents us with a test, and we fail, we are not punished but are simply given the test again.
As an example, he told how he had been tested in the fire of consultation during the fourteen
years he served on the National Spiritual Assembly, but because he had still not learned
to consult after all that time, he was appointed a Counsellor in October 1976, after having been
given some years of freedom on the Auxiliary Board. He served as a Counsellor for the next
decade. The true test of his consultative skills came when, at the first meeting he attended of
the Continental Board of Counsellors, while he was still stunned by his appointment, he was
called upon to chair the meeting in the presence of the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears.
Angus's humility, combined with the reverence in which he held the Hands of the Cause and
his deep respect for the Counsellors, made this a real test.
Angus's enthusiasm to serve the Faith sometimes led him to make hasty decisions. At an
international conference in 1968, after listening to a plea expressed by Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih
Khanum for pioneers to arise to fill goals, Angus was so inspired he pledged to pioneer to Venezuela, and only on his way home did the sobering thought occur that he had not consulted
with his family! He did not act upon that offer, which he felt to have been a solemn commitment, and for some years carried a burden of guilt until it was good-naturedly dispelled
by Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum and Mr. Amoz Gibson. It was Canada's good fortune
that Angus did not pioneer to Venezuela at that time; however, he enjoyed telling this story as
an illustration of the need to balance audacity of initiative with realistic expectations of ourselves and our loved ones.
Angus demonstrated what it meant to comply with Baha'u'llah's exhortation to be generous
in prosperity and thankful in adversity. At the last major conference he attended, he told the
friends that in a way he was thankful for all the tests that he had been given, even the cancer
that was destroying his body. He had often spoken over the years of 'reliance on God',
he said, but it was only through the pain and suffering he was enduring that he felt he came
to a clear understanding of what that phrase meant.
When Angus Cowan died on 9 March 1986 tributes came from every quarter. PROFOUNDLY
GRIEVED TO ANNOUNCE PASSING OUR BELOVED COUNSELLOR ANGUS COWAN, the Canadian
National Spiritual Assembly telexed the World Centre, HIS REMARKABLE EXAMPLE OF SPIRITUALITY SERVICE DETACHMENT HUMILITY HIS PASSIONATE LOVE FOR THE ORIGINAL PEOPLES OF CANADA AND ELSEWHERE COMBINED WITH HIS TIRELESS TEACHING EFFORTS AND YEARS OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICE WILL BE DEARLY REMEMBERED
IN THE ANNALS OF THE CAUSE OF GOD
... The February/March 1986 issue of Baha'i Canada carried a supplement entitled 'A Special
Measure of Love: A tribute to the native teaching work of Angus Cowan'.
Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum cabled KINDLY CONVEY DEAR BOBBIE COWAN MY HEARTFELT
LOVING SYMPATHY LOSS MUCH LOVED ADMIRED DEVOTED ANGUS WHOSE LONG OUTSTANDING SERVICES CANADIAN BAHA'I COMMUNITY UNFORGETTABLE ... Ruhiyyih Khanum
participated in the memorial services held for Angus Cowan and Melba Loft during her visit
to Canada in July 1986.
Describing Angus as LOVED and MUCH ADMIRED, the Continental Board of Counsellors
in their message stated HIS DEDICATION NATIVE PEOPLE IMMENSE LOVE FOR ALL UNFORGETTABLE.
Counsellor Donald Rogers wrote of Angus, 'He has always epitomized service in all aspects
of his life. For example, I remember that travelling in winter, Angus would invariably be the
one to jump out and scrape the snow and ice off the car even though he was the passenger.
His kindness, his non-judgmental approach towards other people and his ability to treat
everybody as equals serve as an example and encouragement to many of us and have shown
us what it really means to be a Baha'i.
Dorothy Francis, a well-known native Baha'i, said of him, 'The native people love Angus, not
only because he taught us the Baha'i Faith, but because he is one of us. He learned about the
native people, took part in our ceremonies and has the greatest respect for our traditions.'
Another long-time Baha'i, Alice Dusty Horn, recalling Angus's teaching work on the
Poorman Reserve, tells how he had the habit of bringing candy and other treats to the children
on special occasions. She remembered how one of her children reacted to Angus's gift-
'I'll never eat this,' he said, 'Angus gave it to me.'
On her cassette recording Ordinary Girl, released subsequent to Angus's death, Carolina
Mackay dedicated to his memory her setting of a Baha'i prayer.
From the Universal House of Justice, on 12 March 1986, came the final and crowning
honour-a message encapsulating the life and service of this humble, gentle and sweet-natured
man:
HEARTS GRIEF STRICKEN PASSING OUTSTANDING PROMOTER CAUSE ANGUS COWAN. HIS SERVICES AS PREEMINENT BAHA'iI TEACHER OF INDIAN PEOPLES HIS UNCEASING LABOURS THROUGHOUT LONG YEARS DEVOTION RANGED FROM LOCAL AND NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES TO AUXILIARY BOARD AND BOARD COUNSELLORS. HIS COMPASSION COURTESY HUMILITY MAGNANIMITY UNFORGETTABLE. BAHA'I COMMUNITY CANADA ROBBED OF A DEDICATED NOBLE WORKER WHO BORE HIS SUFFERINGS TO THE VERY END WITH EXEMPLARY FORTITUDE.
CONVEY LOVING CONDOLENCES HIS BELOVED WIFE AND FAMILY AND ASSURANCES ARDENT
PRAYERS HIS RADIANT SOUL'S PROGRESS THROUGHOUT WORLDS GOD.
(Adapted from an article by GORDON McFARLANE)
Contributor: Naomi Snider (Yocom) McFadden (47310768) • [email protected]
ANGUS WELDON COWAN
1914-1986
The Baha'i World was saddened by the passing of Angus Cowan on 9 March 1986 in Invermere,
British Columbia, Canada, after a long struggle with cancer. Angus was particularly loved by
the native peoples of North America to whom he devoted a large part of his time teaching the
Faith.
Angus, who was born on 12 September 1914, received his primary school education in Bishopton and West Bolton, Quebec. He then attended high school in Knowlton, Quebec, following which he attended Macdonald College in St. Anne de Bellevue. From 1938 to 1942 he
sold life insurance, a field to which he returned from 1956 to 1960. In 1946, he was released
from the Air Force where he had served for two and a half years as an air frame mechanic,
and after taking classes at the University of Toronto for a few months, he was hired by IBM
for whom he worked in sales first in Toronto and later in Winnipeg (1950 to 1955) where he
managed the Electric Typewriter Division. He took an active interest in sports, serving as
captain of hockey and baseball teams, and was at various times a member of the Big Brothers
association, president of the John Howard Society, and Saskatchewan representative of the
national committee of the Canadian Corrections Association.
Asked about the circumstances of his becoming a Baha'i, Angus stated that in 1946 when
he had returned to university he was selling books in a book store to earn a little money.
'A customer by the name of John Robarts came in twice while I was on duty. I became his babysitter.
I met his daughter, Nina, aged about four, who taught me my first Baha'i lesson.
John and Audrey Robarts became friends to me and had lots of patience for three years
... Then Bobbie and I were ready to turn to Baha'u'llah. The happy day was 30 March
1949.'
Angus was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada in a by-election in
December 1953 after a vacancy had been created when John Robarts, whom Angus called his
spiritual guide and Baha'i father, and who was in October 1957 appointed a Hand of the Cause,
had pioneered with his family to Africa. After serving on the National Spiritual Assembly for
a period of fourteen years, Angus was appointed Auxiliary Board member for Saskatchewan,
Manitoba, North Dakota and Montana.
Always an extremely humble man, he liked to tell the story of how he became a member of
the Auxiliary Board. 'One of my greatest tests', he said, 'was that I couldn't consult, I always
felt like a fifth wheel on the National Spiritual Assembly because I wanted to be out in the
front lines of the Faith teaching, not consulting.' So, in 1968, when the Counsellors asked the
National Spiritual Assembly to recommend members of the Baha'i community to serve on
the Auxiliary Board, adding that the National Assembly should not overlook its own membership, Angus enthusiastically volunteered.
The following six years were described by Angus as the most exciting period of his Baha'i
life. Although he was given direction by Counsellor Lloyd Gardner, he said he was able to
go about teaching largely in his own way and at his own speed and was never slowed down
by the need for consultation. 'Lloyd probably wanted to consult with me at times,' he would
chuckle when relating the story, 'but, you see, I always tried to keep a few steps ahead of him
so he couldn't catch up to me.'
During those years Angus intensified his teaching activity among the indigenous peoples.
The deep love that he had borne for them all his life began to bear fruit in 1958 in the native
communities of Saskatchewan. He came to be so loved and respected by the native people of
Canada and the United States that the Tlingit tribe adopted him into the Eagle band and
bestowed upon him the name Yik-Gah (Great Greatgrandfather) during a ceremony which
took place at the 1978 Alaskan national convention and which was described in the Alaska
Baha'i News as the 'most unifying event of the convention'.
On a previous occasion Angus had been entrusted with the most treasured possessions
of a native Elder, Ed Poorman, of the Poorman Reserve in Saskatchewan. Following his first
meeting with Ed Poorman, the Elder gave him a sacred medicine pipe and a Queen Victoria
treaty, written on parchment and dated 1885.
Angus had the treaty document framed and returned it to Ed, but it was not until years
later that he fully realized the significance of the rare honour that had been bestowed upon
him when the sacred pipe was entrusted to his care.
Angus's personal good-humoured and informal style of teaching endeared him to many.
He constantly praised the efforts of others, and he would tell amusing stories about his own
'blunders' in order to demonstrate the principles of the Faith. He said that when Baha'u'llah
presents us with a test, and we fail, we are not punished but are simply given the test again.
As an example, he told how he had been tested in the fire of consultation during the fourteen
years he served on the National Spiritual Assembly, but because he had still not learned
to consult after all that time, he was appointed a Counsellor in October 1976, after having been
given some years of freedom on the Auxiliary Board. He served as a Counsellor for the next
decade. The true test of his consultative skills came when, at the first meeting he attended of
the Continental Board of Counsellors, while he was still stunned by his appointment, he was
called upon to chair the meeting in the presence of the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears.
Angus's humility, combined with the reverence in which he held the Hands of the Cause and
his deep respect for the Counsellors, made this a real test.
Angus's enthusiasm to serve the Faith sometimes led him to make hasty decisions. At an
international conference in 1968, after listening to a plea expressed by Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih
Khanum for pioneers to arise to fill goals, Angus was so inspired he pledged to pioneer to Venezuela, and only on his way home did the sobering thought occur that he had not consulted
with his family! He did not act upon that offer, which he felt to have been a solemn commitment, and for some years carried a burden of guilt until it was good-naturedly dispelled
by Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum and Mr. Amoz Gibson. It was Canada's good fortune
that Angus did not pioneer to Venezuela at that time; however, he enjoyed telling this story as
an illustration of the need to balance audacity of initiative with realistic expectations of ourselves and our loved ones.
Angus demonstrated what it meant to comply with Baha'u'llah's exhortation to be generous
in prosperity and thankful in adversity. At the last major conference he attended, he told the
friends that in a way he was thankful for all the tests that he had been given, even the cancer
that was destroying his body. He had often spoken over the years of 'reliance on God',
he said, but it was only through the pain and suffering he was enduring that he felt he came
to a clear understanding of what that phrase meant.
When Angus Cowan died on 9 March 1986 tributes came from every quarter. PROFOUNDLY
GRIEVED TO ANNOUNCE PASSING OUR BELOVED COUNSELLOR ANGUS COWAN, the Canadian
National Spiritual Assembly telexed the World Centre, HIS REMARKABLE EXAMPLE OF SPIRITUALITY SERVICE DETACHMENT HUMILITY HIS PASSIONATE LOVE FOR THE ORIGINAL PEOPLES OF CANADA AND ELSEWHERE COMBINED WITH HIS TIRELESS TEACHING EFFORTS AND YEARS OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICE WILL BE DEARLY REMEMBERED
IN THE ANNALS OF THE CAUSE OF GOD
... The February/March 1986 issue of Baha'i Canada carried a supplement entitled 'A Special
Measure of Love: A tribute to the native teaching work of Angus Cowan'.
Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum cabled KINDLY CONVEY DEAR BOBBIE COWAN MY HEARTFELT
LOVING SYMPATHY LOSS MUCH LOVED ADMIRED DEVOTED ANGUS WHOSE LONG OUTSTANDING SERVICES CANADIAN BAHA'I COMMUNITY UNFORGETTABLE ... Ruhiyyih Khanum
participated in the memorial services held for Angus Cowan and Melba Loft during her visit
to Canada in July 1986.
Describing Angus as LOVED and MUCH ADMIRED, the Continental Board of Counsellors
in their message stated HIS DEDICATION NATIVE PEOPLE IMMENSE LOVE FOR ALL UNFORGETTABLE.
Counsellor Donald Rogers wrote of Angus, 'He has always epitomized service in all aspects
of his life. For example, I remember that travelling in winter, Angus would invariably be the
one to jump out and scrape the snow and ice off the car even though he was the passenger.
His kindness, his non-judgmental approach towards other people and his ability to treat
everybody as equals serve as an example and encouragement to many of us and have shown
us what it really means to be a Baha'i.
Dorothy Francis, a well-known native Baha'i, said of him, 'The native people love Angus, not
only because he taught us the Baha'i Faith, but because he is one of us. He learned about the
native people, took part in our ceremonies and has the greatest respect for our traditions.'
Another long-time Baha'i, Alice Dusty Horn, recalling Angus's teaching work on the
Poorman Reserve, tells how he had the habit of bringing candy and other treats to the children
on special occasions. She remembered how one of her children reacted to Angus's gift-
'I'll never eat this,' he said, 'Angus gave it to me.'
On her cassette recording Ordinary Girl, released subsequent to Angus's death, Carolina
Mackay dedicated to his memory her setting of a Baha'i prayer.
From the Universal House of Justice, on 12 March 1986, came the final and crowning
honour-a message encapsulating the life and service of this humble, gentle and sweet-natured
man:
HEARTS GRIEF STRICKEN PASSING OUTSTANDING PROMOTER CAUSE ANGUS COWAN. HIS SERVICES AS PREEMINENT BAHA'iI TEACHER OF INDIAN PEOPLES HIS UNCEASING LABOURS THROUGHOUT LONG YEARS DEVOTION RANGED FROM LOCAL AND NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES TO AUXILIARY BOARD AND BOARD COUNSELLORS. HIS COMPASSION COURTESY HUMILITY MAGNANIMITY UNFORGETTABLE. BAHA'I COMMUNITY CANADA ROBBED OF A DEDICATED NOBLE WORKER WHO BORE HIS SUFFERINGS TO THE VERY END WITH EXEMPLARY FORTITUDE.
CONVEY LOVING CONDOLENCES HIS BELOVED WIFE AND FAMILY AND ASSURANCES ARDENT
PRAYERS HIS RADIANT SOUL'S PROGRESS THROUGHOUT WORLDS GOD.
(Adapted from an article by GORDON McFARLANE)
Contributor: Naomi Snider (Yocom) McFadden (47310768) • [email protected]
Baha'i World Vol 19
ANGUS WELDON COWAN
1914-1986
The Baha'i World was saddened by the passing of Angus Cowan on 9 March 1986 in Invermere,
British Columbia, Canada, after a long struggle with cancer. Angus was particularly loved by
the native peoples of North America to whom he devoted a large part of his time teaching the
Faith.
Angus, who was born on 12 September 1914, received his primary school education in Bishopton and West Bolton, Quebec. He then attended high school in Knowlton, Quebec, following which he attended Macdonald College in St. Anne de Bellevue. From 1938 to 1942 he
sold life insurance, a field to which he returned from 1956 to 1960. In 1946, he was released
from the Air Force where he had served for two and a half years as an air frame mechanic,
and after taking classes at the University of Toronto for a few months, he was hired by IBM
for whom he worked in sales first in Toronto and later in Winnipeg (1950 to 1955) where he
managed the Electric Typewriter Division. He took an active interest in sports, serving as
captain of hockey and baseball teams, and was at various times a member of the Big Brothers
association, president of the John Howard Society, and Saskatchewan representative of the
national committee of the Canadian Corrections Association.
Asked about the circumstances of his becoming a Baha'i, Angus stated that in 1946 when
he had returned to university he was selling books in a book store to earn a little money.
'A customer by the name of John Robarts came in twice while I was on duty. I became his babysitter.
I met his daughter, Nina, aged about four, who taught me my first Baha'i lesson.
John and Audrey Robarts became friends to me and had lots of patience for three years
... Then Bobbie and I were ready to turn to Baha'u'llah. The happy day was 30 March
1949.'
Angus was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada in a by-election in
December 1953 after a vacancy had been created when John Robarts, whom Angus called his
spiritual guide and Baha'i father, and who was in October 1957 appointed a Hand of the Cause,
had pioneered with his family to Africa. After serving on the National Spiritual Assembly for
a period of fourteen years, Angus was appointed Auxiliary Board member for Saskatchewan,
Manitoba, North Dakota and Montana.
Always an extremely humble man, he liked to tell the story of how he became a member of
the Auxiliary Board. 'One of my greatest tests', he said, 'was that I couldn't consult, I always
felt like a fifth wheel on the National Spiritual Assembly because I wanted to be out in the
front lines of the Faith teaching, not consulting.' So, in 1968, when the Counsellors asked the
National Spiritual Assembly to recommend members of the Baha'i community to serve on
the Auxiliary Board, adding that the National Assembly should not overlook its own membership, Angus enthusiastically volunteered.
The following six years were described by Angus as the most exciting period of his Baha'i
life. Although he was given direction by Counsellor Lloyd Gardner, he said he was able to
go about teaching largely in his own way and at his own speed and was never slowed down
by the need for consultation. 'Lloyd probably wanted to consult with me at times,' he would
chuckle when relating the story, 'but, you see, I always tried to keep a few steps ahead of him
so he couldn't catch up to me.'
During those years Angus intensified his teaching activity among the indigenous peoples.
The deep love that he had borne for them all his life began to bear fruit in 1958 in the native
communities of Saskatchewan. He came to be so loved and respected by the native people of
Canada and the United States that the Tlingit tribe adopted him into the Eagle band and
bestowed upon him the name Yik-Gah (Great Greatgrandfather) during a ceremony which
took place at the 1978 Alaskan national convention and which was described in the Alaska
Baha'i News as the 'most unifying event of the convention'.
On a previous occasion Angus had been entrusted with the most treasured possessions
of a native Elder, Ed Poorman, of the Poorman Reserve in Saskatchewan. Following his first
meeting with Ed Poorman, the Elder gave him a sacred medicine pipe and a Queen Victoria
treaty, written on parchment and dated 1885.
Angus had the treaty document framed and returned it to Ed, but it was not until years
later that he fully realized the significance of the rare honour that had been bestowed upon
him when the sacred pipe was entrusted to his care.
Angus's personal good-humoured and informal style of teaching endeared him to many.
He constantly praised the efforts of others, and he would tell amusing stories about his own
'blunders' in order to demonstrate the principles of the Faith. He said that when Baha'u'llah
presents us with a test, and we fail, we are not punished but are simply given the test again.
As an example, he told how he had been tested in the fire of consultation during the fourteen
years he served on the National Spiritual Assembly, but because he had still not learned
to consult after all that time, he was appointed a Counsellor in October 1976, after having been
given some years of freedom on the Auxiliary Board. He served as a Counsellor for the next
decade. The true test of his consultative skills came when, at the first meeting he attended of
the Continental Board of Counsellors, while he was still stunned by his appointment, he was
called upon to chair the meeting in the presence of the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears.
Angus's humility, combined with the reverence in which he held the Hands of the Cause and
his deep respect for the Counsellors, made this a real test.
Angus's enthusiasm to serve the Faith sometimes led him to make hasty decisions. At an
international conference in 1968, after listening to a plea expressed by Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih
Khanum for pioneers to arise to fill goals, Angus was so inspired he pledged to pioneer to Venezuela, and only on his way home did the sobering thought occur that he had not consulted
with his family! He did not act upon that offer, which he felt to have been a solemn commitment, and for some years carried a burden of guilt until it was good-naturedly dispelled
by Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum and Mr. Amoz Gibson. It was Canada's good fortune
that Angus did not pioneer to Venezuela at that time; however, he enjoyed telling this story as
an illustration of the need to balance audacity of initiative with realistic expectations of ourselves and our loved ones.
Angus demonstrated what it meant to comply with Baha'u'llah's exhortation to be generous
in prosperity and thankful in adversity. At the last major conference he attended, he told the
friends that in a way he was thankful for all the tests that he had been given, even the cancer
that was destroying his body. He had often spoken over the years of 'reliance on God',
he said, but it was only through the pain and suffering he was enduring that he felt he came
to a clear understanding of what that phrase meant.
When Angus Cowan died on 9 March 1986 tributes came from every quarter. PROFOUNDLY
GRIEVED TO ANNOUNCE PASSING OUR BELOVED COUNSELLOR ANGUS COWAN, the Canadian
National Spiritual Assembly telexed the World Centre, HIS REMARKABLE EXAMPLE OF SPIRITUALITY SERVICE DETACHMENT HUMILITY HIS PASSIONATE LOVE FOR THE ORIGINAL PEOPLES OF CANADA AND ELSEWHERE COMBINED WITH HIS TIRELESS TEACHING EFFORTS AND YEARS OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICE WILL BE DEARLY REMEMBERED
IN THE ANNALS OF THE CAUSE OF GOD
... The February/March 1986 issue of Baha'i Canada carried a supplement entitled 'A Special
Measure of Love: A tribute to the native teaching work of Angus Cowan'.
Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum cabled KINDLY CONVEY DEAR BOBBIE COWAN MY HEARTFELT
LOVING SYMPATHY LOSS MUCH LOVED ADMIRED DEVOTED ANGUS WHOSE LONG OUTSTANDING SERVICES CANADIAN BAHA'I COMMUNITY UNFORGETTABLE ... Ruhiyyih Khanum
participated in the memorial services held for Angus Cowan and Melba Loft during her visit
to Canada in July 1986.
Describing Angus as LOVED and MUCH ADMIRED, the Continental Board of Counsellors
in their message stated HIS DEDICATION NATIVE PEOPLE IMMENSE LOVE FOR ALL UNFORGETTABLE.
Counsellor Donald Rogers wrote of Angus, 'He has always epitomized service in all aspects
of his life. For example, I remember that travelling in winter, Angus would invariably be the
one to jump out and scrape the snow and ice off the car even though he was the passenger.
His kindness, his non-judgmental approach towards other people and his ability to treat
everybody as equals serve as an example and encouragement to many of us and have shown
us what it really means to be a Baha'i.
Dorothy Francis, a well-known native Baha'i, said of him, 'The native people love Angus, not
only because he taught us the Baha'i Faith, but because he is one of us. He learned about the
native people, took part in our ceremonies and has the greatest respect for our traditions.'
Another long-time Baha'i, Alice Dusty Horn, recalling Angus's teaching work on the
Poorman Reserve, tells how he had the habit of bringing candy and other treats to the children
on special occasions. She remembered how one of her children reacted to Angus's gift-
'I'll never eat this,' he said, 'Angus gave it to me.'
On her cassette recording Ordinary Girl, released subsequent to Angus's death, Carolina
Mackay dedicated to his memory her setting of a Baha'i prayer.
From the Universal House of Justice, on 12 March 1986, came the final and crowning
honour-a message encapsulating the life and service of this humble, gentle and sweet-natured
man:
HEARTS GRIEF STRICKEN PASSING OUTSTANDING PROMOTER CAUSE ANGUS COWAN. HIS SERVICES AS PREEMINENT BAHA'iI TEACHER OF INDIAN PEOPLES HIS UNCEASING LABOURS THROUGHOUT LONG YEARS DEVOTION RANGED FROM LOCAL AND NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES TO AUXILIARY BOARD AND BOARD COUNSELLORS. HIS COMPASSION COURTESY HUMILITY MAGNANIMITY UNFORGETTABLE. BAHA'I COMMUNITY CANADA ROBBED OF A DEDICATED NOBLE WORKER WHO BORE HIS SUFFERINGS TO THE VERY END WITH EXEMPLARY FORTITUDE.
CONVEY LOVING CONDOLENCES HIS BELOVED WIFE AND FAMILY AND ASSURANCES ARDENT
PRAYERS HIS RADIANT SOUL'S PROGRESS THROUGHOUT WORLDS GOD.
(Adapted from an article by GORDON McFARLANE)
Contributor: Naomi Snider (Yocom) McFadden (47310768) • [email protected]
ANGUS WELDON COWAN
1914-1986
The Baha'i World was saddened by the passing of Angus Cowan on 9 March 1986 in Invermere,
British Columbia, Canada, after a long struggle with cancer. Angus was particularly loved by
the native peoples of North America to whom he devoted a large part of his time teaching the
Faith.
Angus, who was born on 12 September 1914, received his primary school education in Bishopton and West Bolton, Quebec. He then attended high school in Knowlton, Quebec, following which he attended Macdonald College in St. Anne de Bellevue. From 1938 to 1942 he
sold life insurance, a field to which he returned from 1956 to 1960. In 1946, he was released
from the Air Force where he had served for two and a half years as an air frame mechanic,
and after taking classes at the University of Toronto for a few months, he was hired by IBM
for whom he worked in sales first in Toronto and later in Winnipeg (1950 to 1955) where he
managed the Electric Typewriter Division. He took an active interest in sports, serving as
captain of hockey and baseball teams, and was at various times a member of the Big Brothers
association, president of the John Howard Society, and Saskatchewan representative of the
national committee of the Canadian Corrections Association.
Asked about the circumstances of his becoming a Baha'i, Angus stated that in 1946 when
he had returned to university he was selling books in a book store to earn a little money.
'A customer by the name of John Robarts came in twice while I was on duty. I became his babysitter.
I met his daughter, Nina, aged about four, who taught me my first Baha'i lesson.
John and Audrey Robarts became friends to me and had lots of patience for three years
... Then Bobbie and I were ready to turn to Baha'u'llah. The happy day was 30 March
1949.'
Angus was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada in a by-election in
December 1953 after a vacancy had been created when John Robarts, whom Angus called his
spiritual guide and Baha'i father, and who was in October 1957 appointed a Hand of the Cause,
had pioneered with his family to Africa. After serving on the National Spiritual Assembly for
a period of fourteen years, Angus was appointed Auxiliary Board member for Saskatchewan,
Manitoba, North Dakota and Montana.
Always an extremely humble man, he liked to tell the story of how he became a member of
the Auxiliary Board. 'One of my greatest tests', he said, 'was that I couldn't consult, I always
felt like a fifth wheel on the National Spiritual Assembly because I wanted to be out in the
front lines of the Faith teaching, not consulting.' So, in 1968, when the Counsellors asked the
National Spiritual Assembly to recommend members of the Baha'i community to serve on
the Auxiliary Board, adding that the National Assembly should not overlook its own membership, Angus enthusiastically volunteered.
The following six years were described by Angus as the most exciting period of his Baha'i
life. Although he was given direction by Counsellor Lloyd Gardner, he said he was able to
go about teaching largely in his own way and at his own speed and was never slowed down
by the need for consultation. 'Lloyd probably wanted to consult with me at times,' he would
chuckle when relating the story, 'but, you see, I always tried to keep a few steps ahead of him
so he couldn't catch up to me.'
During those years Angus intensified his teaching activity among the indigenous peoples.
The deep love that he had borne for them all his life began to bear fruit in 1958 in the native
communities of Saskatchewan. He came to be so loved and respected by the native people of
Canada and the United States that the Tlingit tribe adopted him into the Eagle band and
bestowed upon him the name Yik-Gah (Great Greatgrandfather) during a ceremony which
took place at the 1978 Alaskan national convention and which was described in the Alaska
Baha'i News as the 'most unifying event of the convention'.
On a previous occasion Angus had been entrusted with the most treasured possessions
of a native Elder, Ed Poorman, of the Poorman Reserve in Saskatchewan. Following his first
meeting with Ed Poorman, the Elder gave him a sacred medicine pipe and a Queen Victoria
treaty, written on parchment and dated 1885.
Angus had the treaty document framed and returned it to Ed, but it was not until years
later that he fully realized the significance of the rare honour that had been bestowed upon
him when the sacred pipe was entrusted to his care.
Angus's personal good-humoured and informal style of teaching endeared him to many.
He constantly praised the efforts of others, and he would tell amusing stories about his own
'blunders' in order to demonstrate the principles of the Faith. He said that when Baha'u'llah
presents us with a test, and we fail, we are not punished but are simply given the test again.
As an example, he told how he had been tested in the fire of consultation during the fourteen
years he served on the National Spiritual Assembly, but because he had still not learned
to consult after all that time, he was appointed a Counsellor in October 1976, after having been
given some years of freedom on the Auxiliary Board. He served as a Counsellor for the next
decade. The true test of his consultative skills came when, at the first meeting he attended of
the Continental Board of Counsellors, while he was still stunned by his appointment, he was
called upon to chair the meeting in the presence of the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears.
Angus's humility, combined with the reverence in which he held the Hands of the Cause and
his deep respect for the Counsellors, made this a real test.
Angus's enthusiasm to serve the Faith sometimes led him to make hasty decisions. At an
international conference in 1968, after listening to a plea expressed by Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih
Khanum for pioneers to arise to fill goals, Angus was so inspired he pledged to pioneer to Venezuela, and only on his way home did the sobering thought occur that he had not consulted
with his family! He did not act upon that offer, which he felt to have been a solemn commitment, and for some years carried a burden of guilt until it was good-naturedly dispelled
by Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum and Mr. Amoz Gibson. It was Canada's good fortune
that Angus did not pioneer to Venezuela at that time; however, he enjoyed telling this story as
an illustration of the need to balance audacity of initiative with realistic expectations of ourselves and our loved ones.
Angus demonstrated what it meant to comply with Baha'u'llah's exhortation to be generous
in prosperity and thankful in adversity. At the last major conference he attended, he told the
friends that in a way he was thankful for all the tests that he had been given, even the cancer
that was destroying his body. He had often spoken over the years of 'reliance on God',
he said, but it was only through the pain and suffering he was enduring that he felt he came
to a clear understanding of what that phrase meant.
When Angus Cowan died on 9 March 1986 tributes came from every quarter. PROFOUNDLY
GRIEVED TO ANNOUNCE PASSING OUR BELOVED COUNSELLOR ANGUS COWAN, the Canadian
National Spiritual Assembly telexed the World Centre, HIS REMARKABLE EXAMPLE OF SPIRITUALITY SERVICE DETACHMENT HUMILITY HIS PASSIONATE LOVE FOR THE ORIGINAL PEOPLES OF CANADA AND ELSEWHERE COMBINED WITH HIS TIRELESS TEACHING EFFORTS AND YEARS OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICE WILL BE DEARLY REMEMBERED
IN THE ANNALS OF THE CAUSE OF GOD
... The February/March 1986 issue of Baha'i Canada carried a supplement entitled 'A Special
Measure of Love: A tribute to the native teaching work of Angus Cowan'.
Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum cabled KINDLY CONVEY DEAR BOBBIE COWAN MY HEARTFELT
LOVING SYMPATHY LOSS MUCH LOVED ADMIRED DEVOTED ANGUS WHOSE LONG OUTSTANDING SERVICES CANADIAN BAHA'I COMMUNITY UNFORGETTABLE ... Ruhiyyih Khanum
participated in the memorial services held for Angus Cowan and Melba Loft during her visit
to Canada in July 1986.
Describing Angus as LOVED and MUCH ADMIRED, the Continental Board of Counsellors
in their message stated HIS DEDICATION NATIVE PEOPLE IMMENSE LOVE FOR ALL UNFORGETTABLE.
Counsellor Donald Rogers wrote of Angus, 'He has always epitomized service in all aspects
of his life. For example, I remember that travelling in winter, Angus would invariably be the
one to jump out and scrape the snow and ice off the car even though he was the passenger.
His kindness, his non-judgmental approach towards other people and his ability to treat
everybody as equals serve as an example and encouragement to many of us and have shown
us what it really means to be a Baha'i.
Dorothy Francis, a well-known native Baha'i, said of him, 'The native people love Angus, not
only because he taught us the Baha'i Faith, but because he is one of us. He learned about the
native people, took part in our ceremonies and has the greatest respect for our traditions.'
Another long-time Baha'i, Alice Dusty Horn, recalling Angus's teaching work on the
Poorman Reserve, tells how he had the habit of bringing candy and other treats to the children
on special occasions. She remembered how one of her children reacted to Angus's gift-
'I'll never eat this,' he said, 'Angus gave it to me.'
On her cassette recording Ordinary Girl, released subsequent to Angus's death, Carolina
Mackay dedicated to his memory her setting of a Baha'i prayer.
From the Universal House of Justice, on 12 March 1986, came the final and crowning
honour-a message encapsulating the life and service of this humble, gentle and sweet-natured
man:
HEARTS GRIEF STRICKEN PASSING OUTSTANDING PROMOTER CAUSE ANGUS COWAN. HIS SERVICES AS PREEMINENT BAHA'iI TEACHER OF INDIAN PEOPLES HIS UNCEASING LABOURS THROUGHOUT LONG YEARS DEVOTION RANGED FROM LOCAL AND NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES TO AUXILIARY BOARD AND BOARD COUNSELLORS. HIS COMPASSION COURTESY HUMILITY MAGNANIMITY UNFORGETTABLE. BAHA'I COMMUNITY CANADA ROBBED OF A DEDICATED NOBLE WORKER WHO BORE HIS SUFFERINGS TO THE VERY END WITH EXEMPLARY FORTITUDE.
CONVEY LOVING CONDOLENCES HIS BELOVED WIFE AND FAMILY AND ASSURANCES ARDENT
PRAYERS HIS RADIANT SOUL'S PROGRESS THROUGHOUT WORLDS GOD.
(Adapted from an article by GORDON McFARLANE)
Contributor: Naomi Snider (Yocom) McFadden (47310768) • [email protected]
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