East Neuk residents have paid tribute to a “lovely” Fife couple who died in a fatal car crash in Argyll on Friday.
Married Martin, 70, and Jo Cousland, 69, from Anstruther died in a tragic car crash in Argyll on Friday.
The couple had been travelling in a red Audi Q2 on the A85 between Arrivain and Dalmally when they collided with a grey Ford Mondeo at around 2pm.
It is understood the couple, who had two daughters, left home in Fife early on Friday morning as they were going on holiday with family.
Both retired, they had moved to the Kingdom from Glasgow around ten years ago, living in the Cauldcots area of Anstruther.
‘Jo was a wonderful artist’
Jo was a talented artist and had recently been elected president of the St Andrews Art Club.
She frequently exhibited her work at community events including the Pittenweem Arts Festival and Crail Festival as well as at local art galleries across Fife.
A spokesperson for St Andrews Art Club said: “Members of the club are greatly saddened by the shocking news of the death of our newly elected President, Jo Cousland, and her husband.
“Not only was Jo a wonderful artist but she was also a very willing and energetic committee member.
“We know that she was looking forward to her time as president of the art club, steering it through the next few years and the committee was certainly looking forward to sharing the tasks with her.
“Our thoughts go out to the Cousland family at this sad time – the St Andrews Art Club shares in their loss.”
‘Martin was a friendly and engaging colleague’
Before his retirement in 2014, Martin worked as a manager at Altrad Babcock – formerly Doosan – in Renfrew, Glasgow.
Executive Vice President at Altrad Babcock, Andrew Colquhoun, said: “Martin joined Babcock in 1978, holding various positions throughout his career.
“Martin was a friendly and engaging colleague who had a great passion for developing our graduate engineers.
“He graciously shared his knowledge, time, and experience to ensure we built a legacy of talented engineers for our business.
“We are all deeply saddened by the news and send our condolences to his family and friends.”
‘They loved their life in Fife’
Martin was the treasurer of the Cotts residents association and and a key member of the Cauldcots community – where he and Jo lived.
Neighbour and friend, David Snodgrass, said: “It’s absolutely tragic what’s happened, we couldn’t believe it when we heard on Friday.
“We got on really well with them, they were just such a sweet couple.
“They loved their new life up here in Fife and just kind of fitted into the community.
“They both loved gardening as a hobby and walking their dog Rufus – their favourite spot was down at Kingsbarn beach.
“Jo was into her art – she was in the local art club and displayed some of her paintings in the Pittenweem Art Festival.
“My wife is devastated, she and Jo were good pals so she’s been struggling the last few days.
“We’ve got quite a close community here because we all look after the steadings and farmhouse area so we work closely together.
“Martin was the treasurer of the local residents association so he was involved in that and looked after our finances.”
‘A lovely, cheery couple’
Local tributes for the pair have been pouring in online, where many described Martin and Jo as a “lovely couple”.
Caroline Thompson said: “I’m so shocked and saddened to hear this tragic news.
“I had the pleasure to serve them in the chemist – a lovely, cheery couple.”
Andrew Needham said: “Sad. Did a lot of work for Martin and Jo over the years – lovely people.”
Linda Paton said: “Very sad she (Jo) was a lovely Artist.”
Police say inquiries are still ongoing into the crash and are asking anyone with information to contact police on 101 quoting incident reference number 1923 of March 31.
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