Murder at Westwell’s Gifts & Stationery Store
The difference in journalistic style between a big city daily and a small town weekly newspaper couldn’t have been more different—even extreme.
The headline for the Mar. 26, 1949 edition of the Victoria Daily Colonist was wall-to-wall and set in type one and a-half inches high.
It’s the sort of headline that’s usually reserved for such extraordinary news events as wars, toppling governments, outrageous scandals and disasters.
It gave its message in just three words:
DUNCAN BUSINESSMAN SLAIN
* * * * *
Seventy years have passed since M. Winter Cook, highly respected Duncan storekeeper and vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce, was shot down in front of employees and customers. Struck by no fewer than eight bullets, he managed to stagger just a few feet before collapsing, dead.
But this wasn’t just a senseless or brutal murder, or a botched holdup; it was a family tragedy. It’s a story that I’ve known about for years but one that I intentionally placed on hold until now…
* * * * *
By publishing weekly, unlike the Colonist, the Cowichan Leader suffered from the handicap of not going to press until March 31, six days after the 5:30 p.m. downtown shooting that shocked and saddened the Cowichan Valley.
On a more cluttered front page, in one-half-inch type, the Leader informed its readers, many of whom would have already read details in the Victoria, Vancouver or Nanaimo dailies, or heard of it by word of mouth:
M.W. Cook Shot In Sad Family Tragedy
And a tragedy it was. The Cowichan Valley has had its share of homicides over the years. But the shooting down of a prominent Duncan businessman in his Station Street store—first reports stated that Marion Winter Cook had been shot five times, in the chest, head and back—suggested a fury and savagery not normally associated with members of the same family.
But such was the case: Douglas Cook, 23, had been arrested and charged with his father’s murder…
* * * * *
I first moved to the Cowichan Valley in 1974; one of the few Duncan businesses that stand out in my mind (I don’t know why as I didn't deal there) was Westwell’s Gift & Stationery store in the Whittome building on Station Street. At that time, I had no knowledge that it was the site of the Cook tragedy.
I did hear an occasional offhand reference to it but, during my first years at Cobble Hill, I spent much of my time commuting to Victoria and the Lower Mainland and seldom had occasion to visit downtown Duncan.
In between, and later, I had more than enough fodder for newspaper and magazine articles so I didn’t research the Cook shooting, as dramatic as it was, until Mike Bieling, the man behind Cowichan’s annual White Cross program, sent along a batch of Colonist clippings he thought would be of interest to me. That was in 2007.
The Whittome Building on Station Street is still there, but who, today, remembers Westwell's once popular lunch counter--or that proprietor M. Winter Cook was gunned down in front of employees and customers?
But I still didn’t follow up until launching www.CowichanChronicles.com. This was intentional.
As a professional storyteller I’ve always—like my readers—been drawn to the more dramatic stories: crime, war and disaster. But, in 2007, I believed daughter Dorothy Ann Cook (later Joplin) was still alive and, although I didn’t know it, living on the mainland.
As much as I appreciate (heaven help me) a “good” murder story, I’ve tried to follow a self-imposed rule of letting at least 60 years pass between crime and the present in the hope that any surviving family members or friends will have passed on.
It’s not my intention to sensationalize or—worse—exploit human tragedy, in particular murders, for the sake of entertaining an audience. To do so has always struck me as ‘murdering’ a victim twice—once in fact, again in print.
Well, 1949 is now 70 years—almost three-quarters of a century—in the taillights and I’m assuming (B.C. Statistics imposes a 20-year-lock on the most recent death statistics so I can't confirm) that Dorothy Cook-Joplin will not be reading or be hurt by my writing of her father’s death at her brother’s hands.
So, readers, for what it’s worth, I hereby break open my file for your reading edification. (And again thank Mike Bieling as well as former curator of the Cowichan Valley Museum & Archives, Priscilla Davies, for digging out the Cook-Westwell’s files from the Archives that are closed to the public because of COVID-19.)
Let’s go back to the story as it was reported in the Colonist by staff reporter Gordon Forbes:
Detective Cpl. Frank L. Jeeves led the investigation for the B.C. Provincial Police.
‘DUNCAN, Mar.25.—Mr. Winter Cook, 50, vice-president of the Duncan Chamber of Commerce, was killed by five shots [sic] from a .25 calibre automatic in his Station Street confectionery store at 5:30 p.m. today. [The Colonist went to press early the next morning.]
“His 23-year-old son, Douglas, has been charged with murder. He will appear before Magistrate G.T. Tisdale in Duncan police court tomorrow (Saturday) morning.
“Corporal Frank R. Jeeves of the B.C. Police is in charge of the investigation.
“The well-known Duncan merchant died seconds after he had been shot three times in the chest and twice in the back, in the rear of the store known as ‘Westwell’s’ which he purchased four years ago,
Heard Shots
“Three other employees and several customers heard the shots and saw Cook stumble about 30 feet into the store. He fell near a magazine stand holding his chest.
“Police are conducting an intensive search for a witness who ran past the wounded man and out of the rear of the store. It is felt the person may have important information.
“Mel Fletcher, Duncan photographer, who was near the store, called police to the scene.
Make Arrest
A family photo of Douglas Cook, 23, taken before his arrest.
“Less than an hour after the murder, Constable Jack Meredith-Jones and Const. Gilbert Dick of the B.C. Police arrested Cook’s son at [the home of] his uncle, Stanley Bonsall, 733 Wilson Street.
“He offered no resistance.”
Duncan Constable Dan Thompson was assisting the provincial police in the investigation and it had been learned that Douglas Cook had bought a package of “nerve pills” from nearby (Mann’s) pharmacy on the morning of the shooting. The young Cook had been working in his father’s store until about four days before but it wasn’t known why he’d discontinued his employment there.
At the Cook residence police found several others guns (both father and son had enjoyed hunting) and these were seized.
Police said they knew of “no trouble within the Cook family and were at a loss to know the motive for the shooting”. By that time Cook’s body had been removed to Hirst’s Funeral Parlour and a thorough search had been made of the store by the Duncan police detachment, and the curtains drawn.
Only at the close of the news report was it mentioned that Cook was survived by his widow, Thelma, and daughter, Dorothy; then attending the University of B.C., two years previously she’d been the “district Lumber Queen.”
Formerly an accountant with the Industrial Timber mills at Youbou, Cook had been a member of the Rotary Club, a past Master of Masonic Temple 33, and an active worker in local and public charitable functions. For recreation, he’d once told a Leader reporter, he also enjoyed basketball, tennis, badminton, fishing, boating and hunting.
Although justice moved much faster in those days, as of the 26th when the Colonist hit the streets, no inquest had been announced. It was then set for Friday, a week after the slaying and after a coroner’s jury viewed the body at Hirst’s Funeral Parlor, and heard that, contrary to the report in the Colonist, W.M. Cook had died from eight not five shots: seven in the chest and one in the back, from a .25 calibre automatic.
By then Douglas Cook, who wasn’t represented by counsel, had been charged in Duncan police court with his father’s murder, Magistate Tisdale having remanded him to April 4 for a preliminary hearing.
Which brings us to the by then week-old and much more sedate account of the tragedy as it was reported in the Leader; at least it did offer more personal details:
“A tragedy which saddened the whole Cowichan community occurred on Friday when Mr. M. Winter Cook, proprietor of Westwell’s at Duncan, was fatally shot in his store, allegedly by his 23-year-old son Douglas whose mind had apparently become unbalanced.
“A clip of shots was fired from a .25 calibre pistol and several bullets took effect. Mr. Cook died almost immediately. Following the shooting Douglas proceeded to the home of his uncle, Mr. Stan Bonsall, on Wilson Street [Wilson Street runs off Gibbons Road opposite the Cowichan District Hospital] where he was persuaded to give himself up to the police after being disarmed. He submitted quietly to arrest by Constable J. Meredith-Jones and Gilbert Dick of the B.C. Police.
Charged With Murder
"A charge of murder was immediately laid against the young man. Two days later he was returned to the jail at Nanaimo as it was necessary to keep him under continual observation and Duncan police did not have sufficient facilities for this duty.
"Doctors made an investigation [sic] and as a result the case was reviewed by the provincial cabinet and yesterday an order-in-council was passed committing him to the Essondale Mental hospital, Coquitlam. He will be held in that institution pending final disposition.
“A few hours after because of the order-in-council he left Nanaimo for Essondale under escort of Const. R. Ross, Shawnigan Lake, and W. Aylward, Youbou.
Evening Tragedy
“The tragedy occurred about 530 p.m. shortly after Mr. Cook returned from his home, to which he had been called by telephone.
“Within minutes of his return, Douglas entered the premises by a rear door. There was a flurry of shots and Mr. Cook fell to the floor in the middle of the store.
“A number of customers and three staff members, Mr. Bert Williams, Mr. R. Gallagher and Vernon Weismiller, were in the store. For a moment all were stunned by the rapid sequence of events.
“Mr. Fred Olson, Lake Cowichan, who was but 12 feet distant from the spot where the shooting occurred, dragged his wife and child to the shelter of a stairway.
“Mr. Melvin Fletcher entered the store at this juncture and went to the aid of Mr. Cook, thinking that the businessman had suffered a heart seizure.
“Discovering that he was dead, he summoned Dr. J.J. Tassain and the police.
Associated In Business
“The community was shocked by the tragic occurrence. Douglas and his father had been on the best of terms and were constant shooting and hunting companions.
“Since being discharged from the Canadian Army at the end of the war, the young man had been associated in the business with his father. For some time preceding the shooting, he had been absent from the store suffering from influenza and receiving treatment for a nervous condition.
“An inquest was opened by Mr. A.E. Green, coroner, on Saturday and was adjourned until to-morrow without any evidence being given.
Well Respected
“In the death of Mr. Cook, Cowichan has lost a man well known and respected.
“The son of the late Rev. E.M. and Mrs. Cook, Mr. Cook was born in Toronto on Christmas Day, 1898. He received his education in his home city and Chemainus elementary school and Duncan High School. He married Miss Thelma Bonsall, Westholme, at Chemainus on March 22, 1924.
“During World War I he served at the Royal School of Instruction, Esquimalt, 1918-19. As an accountant he worked at Lake Cowichan in 1924 then followed a similar occupation in Victoria for several years. Next he entered the employ of the Industrial Timber Mills Ltd. at Youbou and became accountant and secretary. He left the company in 1943 and came to Duncan and entered into business.
“Prominent in all community affairs he was president of Duncan Chamber of Commerce, vice-president of Duncan Rotary Club. He was prominent in Masonic circles and active in Duncan Liberal Association. Until he moved to Duncan he was officer commanding the P.C.M.R. [militia] at Youbou.
“Besides his wife and son he is survived by his daughter, Dorothy Anne, a brother, Mr. Gordon Cook, Chemainus, and a sister, Mrs. Jack Balgent, Youbou. His late father was pastor of the Chemainus Baptist Church for many years.
1940's downtown Duncan looks deceptively calm and peaceful in this old photo. Hardly, it would seem, the stage for murder.
Many Pay Tribute
“Citizens from all walks of life paid a last tribute to the popular businessman at funeral services which were held on Tuesday afternoon in Chemainus Baptist Church, in which he and members of his family had worshipped for so many years.
“The building was filled to overflowing as stores and offices in Duncan closed during the afternoon to allow all to attend the service.
“Mr. John Alder, long-time friend of the family, conducted the church service and Masonic funeral rites were performed at the graveside in Chemainus Cemetery.
“Hymns sung during the church service were ‘Unto the Hills’ and ‘Abide With Me.’
“Active pallbearers were Messrs. Claude Green, R.K. Cairns, Jack Whittaker, W.B. Powel, B.W.W. Cocks and Alan Castley.
“Honorary pallbearers: Messrs. K.F. Duncan, George Highmoor, Colin McInnis, Robert McBride, A. Clark and Capt. Allan Hall, representing the Masonic order, and Mr. C.C. Wright and Mr. John S. Lawrence, representing the Duncan Rotary Club.
“The registration of death filled out by Alfred E. Green, Coroner, gave the cause of death, homicide, from ‘bullet wounds received from an automatic pistol; seven pistol bullet wounds in torso of his body’.”
In accordance with B.C. legal protocol for determining a person’s state of sanity as per the British judicial system, in mid-November 1953 Douglas Cook’s confinement in Essondale came up for review by the provincial cabinet. Sitting in judgment were Premier W.A.C. Bennett and six cabinet ministers.
In due course Attorney-General Robert Bonner “had the honour” to report to His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor Charles Banks, CMG.
“That one DOUGLAS WINTER COOK was arrested at Duncan, B.C. on March 25th, 1949, on a charge of murdering his father.
“That by Order-in-Council No. 687 approved March 29th, 1949, made pursuant to the provisions of Section 970 of the Criminal Code, the said DOUGLAS WINTER COOK having been found mentally ill was ordered removed from Oakalla Prison Farm to the Provincial Mental Hospital, there to remain until his complete or partial recovery was certified to the satisfaction of the Lieutenant-Governor,
“THAT by Order-in-Council No 1038 approved May 2nd, 1953, after reciting that satisfactory evidence had been received that the said DOUGLAS WINTER COOK was recovered from his mental illness, it was ordered that he be removed from the mental hospital to Oakalla Prison Farm Common Gaol for his trial:
“That the said DOUGLAS WINTER COOK was tried on this charge at the 1953 Fall Assizes in Nanaimo and was found not guilty by reason of insanity at the time of the commission of the offence and the Court directed that he be held in strict custody at Oakalla Prison Farm until the pleasure of the Lieutenant-Governor be known:
“THAT the said DOUGLAS WINTER COOK was examined by Dr. E.A. Campbell, a psychiatrist on behalf of the Crown both before and after his trial aforesaid and in his latest report the Doctor states in part a follows:
“'My impression is that he is much the same as he was when I saw him previously, namely, that he has completely recovered from the psychosis for which he had treatment at the mental hospital.’”
“AND TO RECOMMEND THAT under the circumstances and pursuant to Section 966 of the Criminal Code, the said DOUGLAS WINTER COOK be released from custody.
“AND THAT a certified copy of this Minute of Council, if approved, be forwarded to the Warden, Oakalla Prison Farm and to Alfred Ball, Q.C., Barrister [Cook’s or his family’s lawyer?] Royal Bank Building, Vancouver, B.C.
“Dated this 13th day of November A.D. 1953," and signed by [R.] Bonner as Attorney-General, and Premier Bennett as a “presiding member of the Executive Council".
When, in April 1943, it became known that M.W. Cook, for 12 years the accountant and secretary of the Industrial Mills Co., had bought Westwell’s from owner John Kerrone, the community of Youbou on the North Shore of Cowichan Lake was said to have been “flabbergasted” at the impending loss of “a kingpin in the life of the community”.
Two and a-half years after Douglas’s release from Essondale, when the Cook family again graced the pages of the local Leader, it was sister Dorothy Anne who took the spotlight.
Known to all as “Do,” she was described as one of the city’s “most charming and attractive personalities," always ready with a quick smile and refreshing conversation.
Born in Victoria she’d lived by that time for 12 years in Duncan and was involved in amateur drama as the founder of the Duncan Little Theatre; as a key member of the Duncan Musical Club, she also enjoyed “operatics,” and, years after, she recalled how much she’d enjoyed being Cowichan Lumber Queen in 1948.
Having travelled extensively about the American continent while buying and selling for Westwell's, which she operated with her mother, she hoped one day to be able to explore Europe.
In 1961, she announced her impending marriage to Joseph T.L. Kallal, Edmonton, with whom she intended to live in “Grove Hall,” a historic manor on a 15-acre estate at Westholme.
By 1971, however, she was working in Victoria as the public relations officer for the famed Empress Hotel.
It was in this role that Margaret Williams described her, in the magazine section of the Colonist, as a “very glamorous small person” with black hair drawn severely back, with dark eyes set in a small oval face whose ready smile “single[d] her out from the crowd”.
By then she’d also sung professionally on television and internationally, had worked with Robert Goulet and performed for HRH Queen Elizabeth in Vancouver. Her co-workers at the Empress expressed their amazement at her ability to remember hundreds of names, for her using the palm of her hand on which to write memos, even when dealing with royalty and prime ministers, and for remaining calm, cool and collected in all situations.
Six years later, the Victoria Daily Times reported that Dorothy Cook was leaving the Empress Hotel to be married. Her file in the Cowichan Valley Museum/Archives contains no follow-up mention to the 1961 report of her engagement to Mr. Kallal; her retirement at the Empress in 1977 was to marry an international travel executive and to live in Bermuda. Albert Joplin’s 2003 obituary notice credits him with wartime and business achievements enough for three normal people; no children were mentioned.
Tom Westwell, founder of what became Westwell’s gift and stationery store, came to Canada, aged 30, in 1910.
After working as a ditch digger, elevator operator, coal miner and in the logging industry he opened his first ‘Westwell’s’ in Chemainus then bought H.F. Prevost’s Stationery Store on Craig Street, moving to the Whittome Building on Station Street in 1933.
Westwell’s lunch counter became a popular Duncan institution but, his health failing, Westwell sold to his son-in-law John Kerrone in 1941. According to the Cowichan Valley Archives, when M. Winter Cook bought the business in 1943 he reduced the size of the restaurant so as to specialize in quality china. After his death, wife Thelma and daughter Dorothy carried on the business until 1961 when they sold to Frank and Hazel McEwan. Son Dick McEwan moved the store back to Craig Street in 1977 and Westwell's House of Gifts, its link to the Cook family tragedy mostly forgotten by then, closed for good in 1986.
Masonic Temple 33 Canada Avenue, has a great website which gives the history of the Duncan Lodge and most of its members over the past 108 years. But the only reference to M. Winter Cook, former Grand Master, doesn't mention his having been murdered.
Today, Duncan’s Masonic Temple Lodge 33 of which Marion Winter Cook served as a Grand Master remembers him—just—on its excellent website notes his death, but says nothing of the circumstances.
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