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Green County Board member recalled for patience, respect

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Joe Cousin

ALBANY — Green County Board member and former Albany village President Joe Cousin will be remembered as a patient man who didn't hold grudges.

"The thing I always really liked about him, even if you didn't agree on something in a meeting … you walk out the door, and it was over," Albany village Clerk/Treasurer Laurie Keepers said. "I always really respected him about that. Even if you didn't see eye-to-eye, it didn't matter to him."

Cousin, 63, Albany, died Friday at home.

Cousin first was elected to the village board in 1997 and served until 2005, when he became village president for two years. His public service also touched the Green County Board, where he was a member since 2002. He served on the health and human services committee and currently was serving on the board for Southwest Head Start.

The county board chairman will appoint an Albany resident to his seat.

Cousin always was patient working with residents and often enjoyed talking about the Packers or Badgers, Keepers said.

He was a frugal man and tried to keep taxes down as much as possible, she said, "which may have been frustrating for some but definitely appreciated by others."

A Beloit native, Cousin worked the last 16 years for the Dean Medical Center in Madison and was a member of the Triage Team for the Department of Psychiatry.

Cousin often volunteered for Head Start programs, was a commercial hot air balloonist and enjoyed gardening.

He is survived by his wife, Julie.

Services will be at 11 a.m. today at the Daley Murphy Wisch & Associates Funeral Home and Crematorium, Beloit. Memorials may be given in his name to local Head Start programs or food pantries.