Bill Cowan, a former Winchester city councilman who was the driving force behind the city’s downtown-improvement efforts, passed away on June 8 with fellow city leaders expressing sadness and paying tribute to someone who had committed so greatly to their home community.

Mayor Sean Crabtree told the audience at the June 9 City Council meeting about Mr. Cowan’s passing.

“Franklin County and the City of Winchester have lost a native son,” Crabtree said. “He will be sorely missed. He did a lot for this city, and I will miss him greatly.”

City Administrator Beth Rhoton echoed Crabtree’s sentiments about Mr. Cowan’s passing.

“Bill Cowan’s legacy is not found in the buildings he helped preserve or the stories he told, but in the countless lives he touched with his kindness, faith and love for Winchester,” she said. “He gave more to this community than can ever be measured, and for those of us fortunate enough to know him, his influence will endure long after his passing.

“Though we didn’t always see eye-to-eye, my respect for him never faltered. I am better for having known him, and Winchester is better because he chose it as his home.”

In addition to serving on the City Council, Mr. Cowan became the first executive director of the Winchester Downtown Program Corp., which was formed through state assistance to promote tourism and improve the quality of life for Winchester residents.

Crabtree said that Mr. Cowan oversaw the entire renovation of Winchester’s downtown area.

“He used to say that ‘if Winchester is our home, downtown is its living room, and we’re going to make it special,’” Crabtree said, referencing an all-encompassing quote from Mr. Cowan that summed up his outlook on what the downtown area could be.

Crabtree also said that Mr. Cowan’s commitment to improving the downtown area was literally hands-on.

“For years after the (downtown) renovation, when he was in full retirement, he drove downtown every day in his Jeep with a massive water tank in the back, and he would water every hanging basket of flowers all around the Square,” Crabtree said, explaining Mr. Cowan’s passion for making Winchester’s downtown area appear the best that it could.

Crabtree said that Mr. Cowan was a wonderful storyteller “in a most Southern sense,” and literally everyone loved him.

“He was Winchester’s biggest fan, and he will be sorely missed,” Crabtree said. “I’m heartbroken on losing him. It’s a great loss for the entire county and for me personally. Bill always put others above himself.”