AUGUSTA – Timothy Francis Cousins, 54, of Chelsea, a loyal and generous friend to many, died Monday, May 7, after a whirlwind battle with cancer that was diagnosed on April 3.

Tim was born in Hartford, Conn., on May 16, 1952, the son of Francis Eugene and Margaret Jane Cousins, both deceased. His wife Elizabeth, lives in Chelsea in the house they almost finished building together. Tim died young, but not before many personal triumphs.

In 1973, he married his first wife, Eleanor Scott. They created a son and a daughter and fled the city for a good place to raise children. They built a home in Paris, where they lived for more than 20 years.

He supported his family as a plumbing and heating contractor. In the 1980s Oxford Hills Plumbing and Heating specialized in solar-powered heat and water system installations across western Maine.

He changed career directions in the 1990s when he went to college to become a teacher. In August 1997, he began working for the Maine Department of Corrections as a vocational trades instructor for inmates nearing their release, a job he worked until March 13.

He earned a reputation as a potent labor activist involved with the Maine State Employees Association. It was through this activism that he met his second wife, Elizabeth Cousins, with whom he shared the last six years of love and laughter. They married Feb. 20, 2006 in Rockland.

In 2005, he landed a coveted part-time teaching position with the Maine Oil Dealers Association in Brunswick. He said it was the best job he ever had.

He loved hunting, fishing and boating. He played bass guitar for numerous bands over the years, most recently the Rockland-based Myrtle Street Blues Band. He played under stage names ranging from Bluzer and Shark Dive Bomber. He played bass one last time, solo, days before his death. He played it loud, as always.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by his son, Christopher, and his wife, Jennifer and grandson Caleb, of Bath; a daughter, Jennifer, and her fiancé, Keith Smith, of Lewiston; a stepdaughter, Melissa Gray; stepgranddaughter, Elizabeth of Chelsea; a sister, Patricia J. Cousins, and her husband, Michael Galanos, of West Hartford, Conn.; and a soul brother, William “Snappy” Meikle and his children, Kelly, Will, Cody and Greyson of Andover, Conn.