Obituary of Vera Barker Cowan

Vera Barker Cowan June 13, 1924 - January 4, 2017 Vera Barker Cowan passed away unexpectedly on January 4, 2017, at the age of 92. Born to John and Esther Barker, she was born and grew up with her brother, Herbert John Barker, in Long Beach, CA. She graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1942 and attended Long Beach Junior College. She worked at Douglas Aircraft, building C-47s and B-17s in the war effort, while attending classes at night. She married Keith Morris Cowan, an Air Transport Pilot in the Army Air Corps on October 5, 1944, in the First Presbyterian Church of Long Beach, CA. Vera and Keith eventually moved to Maryland where Keith earned his ScD degree at Johns Hopkins University. In their lifetime together, they lived in Connecticut, Africa, New York, Turkey and eventually retired to the San Diego, CA area in 1981. In July, 2001 they moved to Scotts Valley, CA where Keith died in December of that year. Vera is survived by her son Richard, and his wife, Micah (Soquel, CA), her son Jack and his partner, Belinda, (Nyack, NY), and her daughter Marilyn (Medway, MA), as well as three grandchildren, Ian, Ben and Jenna. Vera was gregarious, loved life and lived it to the fullest every day. She was active in many local community organizations wherever she lived, and was especially proud of her success in raising funds for Friends of the Temecula Libraries. In her younger years, she played tennis and golf, and was lucky enough to have made a hole-in-one, to the chagrin of her golf-enthusiast husband. She was a world traveler, and loved to entertain. Cooking, gardening and sewing were some of her favorite activities. She was a film lover and avid reader. Nothing delighted her more than hearing and telling jokes, and she did not shy away from bawdy humor. She maintained life-long friendships, being a diligent correspondent. Keith called her a "late bloomer" as she finally earned her BA with Honors in Education, from Long Island University, NY in 1969, at the age of 45, earning her certification for teaching grades K-12. In her later years Vera enjoyed living at Valley Heights, in Watsonville, CA with her loving dog, Casey. There she continued making new friends, tending her plants, playing card games, Scrabble and Dominoes. She was keen on art, joined a writing group, wrote a life-history journal and regularly wrote letters to the editor of the Santa Cruz Sentinel. Vera wanted loved ones to remember her with joy. The Wind Beneath My Wings was a favorite song. No sad songs for her. She lived an extraordinary life, enjoying a loving marriage and raising three children of whom she was very proud. In lieu of flowers, please donate to your local Hospice.