“He was a gentleman and (his wife) Shirley was a lady,” said one friend of more than 60 years. “I loved them. “They were like family through good times and bad.”
Cougar worked in the food retail/wholesale industry all of his life and was the manager of Gilmours when he retired.
Pirates rugby and cricket clubs were other constants in his life.
But his Rock of Gibraltar was Shirley, his wife of more than 60 years, who died in 2019.
Cougar and Shirley lovingly raised two children in their Russell Street home — Heather, who predeceased them, and Barry.
The couple were well travelled, with Hawaii a regular and favourite destination.
Cougar entered the food retail business as a schoolboy, delivering groceries on a bike for John Bull Stores and later being offered a permanent job.
From there he went on to manage Kaiti Mall Supermarket, Sheepfarmers supermarket in the Gladstone Road building now occupied by LiquorLand, and the food/liquor wholesaler Gilmours, which was in Awapuni Road, next to where Sunshine Brewing is now based.
Cougar was not an office-bound manager. Packing groceries for customers, stacking shelves or helping staff in other ways was not below his station.
Cougar and Shirley first met at a rural tennis club. Some say it was at Patutahi, others say Bushmere.
But in sport, Pirates soon took over.
Cougar, like his father, came from the Celtic side of the 1952 Celtic-Kaiti City amalgamation into Pirates and was good enough to play for Poverty Bay in 1953.
Of those early primitive days at Pirates, he once wrote, “the only shower you had was if it was raining, or if someone shook a wet branch while you were changing after the game”.
“When we built the clubhouse, it was enough to have somewhere to go after games.”
Showers were built later when the money was available.
The end of his playing days did not result in his disappearance from the Pirates clubhouse in Anzac Street.
He gave decades of service to the club. His roles included coach, treasurer, secretary and, inevitably, life member.
Cougar, along with fellow venerated Pirates rugby and cricket original and life member, the late Lyle Kennedy, with others, organised Saturday morning schoolboy teams into the 1970s.
The club drew much criticism from secondary schools in the early years.
Boys, including the sons of Pirates club members, were punished for playing for the Buccaneers.
The matter left a sour taste in the mouths of Cougar, Lyle and others.
Cougar was a fit, always-on-the-go type of person.
Deep into his 80s, he would walk from Russell Street to the Oval to watch Pirates, and then walk home, maybe after a couple of beers at the clubhouse.
Cougar was patron of Pirates Cricket Club for 30 years and, with Shirley, was still attending club functions 20 years after he stepped down.
He would fill in during those early seasons when an 11th player was required.
Cougar last attended a Pirates cricket match when the club took its first premier grade championship title by winning the 2013 Doleman Cup final.
