WELL-KNOWN AYLESFORD RESIDENT PASSES AWAY
Heide Anna Cogswell - 76, of Aylesford, Kings County, passed away surrounded by her family, Wednesday, July 16, 2014 in the Valley Regional Hospital, Kentville. Born in Berlin, Germany, the daughter of the late Karl and Hildegard (Ufer) Wenkhausen. Heide was a loving wife, mother and grandmother and communicated with family and friends worldwide. Her sense of adventure and love of travel seemed familial as her mother was born in Indonesia to a Lutheran Missionary family and her father studied African plantation management in his university years. At the age of 17, she came to Nova Scotia alone to work as an au pair girl. To see more of Canada and to perfect her English, she decided to stay a little longer and a small bursary enabled her to enlist in the Medical Laboratory Technician course. Completing the course, she began work at the Nova Scotia Sanatorium, where she developed a special interest in Bacteriology. While there, she met the partner and love of her life, David Cogswell. Nine months later, on April 25, 1959, they married. While raising four children and supporting her husband's practice as a country doctor, she still found time for other interests and was happiest in her extensive gardens which showed her love of botany. Heide was very active in community affairs and managed the VON Meals On Wheels program for 24 years. She was a founding member of the Kings Chorale Choir and sang with them in choirs in Germany, Nova Scotia, and Carnegie Hall and was an active member of the Aylesford United Church Choir. She enjoyed many crafts including painting watercolors, creating pottery (figurines and wheel), and was a member of the Machine Knitting Guild and the Berwick Book Club. She is survived by her husband of 55 years, Dr. David L. Cogswell; two daughters, Karen (Craig Ballantyne) Cogswell, Scarborough, Ontario; Sonya (Wayne Arrowsmith) Cogswell, Quispamsis, New Brunswick; a son, Eric (Mehnaz) Cogswell, Toronto; six grandchildren, Megan, Ian, Kathleen, Sarah, Ashley and Kelsey; a brother, Volker (Renate) Wenkhausen, Hamburg, Germany and many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by a daughter, Suzanne; a brother, Rainer Wenkhausen; a sister-in-law, Oda Wenkhausen; two brothers-in-law, Ian Smith and Denton Graham. Cremation has taken place. Visitation was held from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Tuesday, July 22, 2014 in the Aylesford United Church, where a celebration of Heide's life, followed by a reception, was held at 2:00 p.m. Wednesday, July 23, 2014, Reverend Wayne Mitton officiating. Donations in memory may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society, the Beehive or the Aylesford United Church. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to the White Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Kentville. On-line inquires may be directed to www.whitefamilyfuneralhome.com.