A Joyful Celebration of the Life of. Jewette Reynolds Cowan

Transcription

1 A Joyful Celebration of the Life of Jewette Reynolds Cowan

2 Miss Jewette, age 5 Saturday, November 12, :00 a.m. Macedonia Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America Decatur, Alabama The Reverend Dr. Wylheme Ragland, Officiating The Reverend Dr. G. Lynne Herring, Host Pastor

3 Obituary On September 2, 1932, Jewette (Gamlin) Reynolds Cowan was the only child born to George H. Reynolds and Jewette Gamlin Reynolds in Tuskegee, Alabama. Miss Reynolds as she was affectionately known, grew up in Tuskegee and graduated in 1950 from Palmer Memorial Institute, an African-American boarding school founded in 1902 in Sedalia, North Carolina. Ms. Cowan received her Bachelor s degree in English from Fisk University in While at Fisk, she sang with the renowned Jubilee Singers, was initiated into the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and was selected as Miss Fisk. Both of her parents graduated from Fisk, where her mother, a member of the class of 1930, was also a Delta and her father, class of 1929, was initiated into the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. Ms. Cowan went on to receive a Master s degree in Library Science from University of Illinois-Champaign in She began her career at the New York Public Library. She left New York for one year to live in London, England with her aunt Gertrude and her uncle, Dr. G. Arrington Kerr. During this time she traveled throughout Europe and spent time with members of the U. S. Olympic team during the 1960 Summer Olympic Games in Rome, Italy. On November 25, 1961, she married Wallace E. Cowan, of New York City, in a ceremony in Tuskegee. In 1964, Ms. Cowan and her husband moved to Tokyo, Japan following his acceptance of a position as a civil servant in communications with the U.S. government. Their five-year stay in Japan was highlighted by attending the 1964 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, singing on a variety show on Japanese television and the birth of their son, Christopher Brice Cowan. The family returned to New York in 1969, where Ms. Cowan spent eight years as a school librarian while her husband pursued a career as a marketing executive with International Business Machines (IBM) in New York City. During this time, Ms. Cowan completed her training in mortuary science. In the summer of 1977, following the death of her father, Ms. Cowan moved to Decatur to assume the ownership and management of Reynolds Funeral Home, which her father founded in 1929 at the age of 25. The funeral home was destroyed by a fire under mysterious circumstances in December Ms. Cowan was determined to rebuild as soon as possible. She operated Reynolds Funeral Home out of a former gas station building for one year while the new funeral home was under construction. Reynolds opened in its present location in Ms. Cowan spent 34 years as President of the family business. In 2009, the Morgan County Chamber of Commerce honored Ms. Cowan for her length of service to the North Alabama community through the funeral home, during Reynolds 80 th anniversary. Following her death on October 14, 2011, at the age of 79, Ms. Cowan leaves to cherish her memory, her loving and devoted son, Christopher and his wife Lynne Dent Cowan and two grandsons Maxwell Reynolds Cowan and Drew Wallace Hunter Cowan (who both referred to her as Jewels ) all of Washington, D.C., as well as many cousins, other relatives and friends.

4 The Order of Service Prelude Jesu, Joy of Man s Desiring J. S. Bach The Greeting The Rev. Dr. Wylheme H. Ragland Musical Selection Total Praise Richard Smallwood King s Memorial United Methodist Church Choir The Prayer Musical Selection The Rev. Dr. Ragland The Lord s Prayer Henry M. Goodgame, Jr. Scripture Reading Psalm 121 Elder Kenneth Owens Poem If Tomorrow Starts Without Me Sherri Graves Scripture Reading Ephesians 6:10-17 The Rev. Dr. G. Lynne Herring Musical Selection Tribute Musical Selection Rocks King s Memorial United Methodist Church Choir Christopher B. Cowan Order My Steps King s Memorial United Methodist Church Choir The Sermon Dressing For Success! The Rev. Dr. Ragland Musical Selection Piano Medley of Hymns and Songs Wallace E. Lee Tribute Benediction Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. The Rev. Dr. Ragland Postlude When the Saints Go Marching In Spiritual

5 If tomorrow starts without me, And I m not there to see, If the sun should rise and find your eyes All filled with tears for me, I wish so much you wouldn t cry the way you did today, While thinking of the many things, We didn t get to say. I know how much you love me, As much as I love you, And each time you think of me, I know you ll miss me too, But when tomorrow starts without me, Please try to understand, That an angel came and called my name, And took me by the hand, And said my place was ready, In heaven far above, And that I d have to leave behind all those I dearly love. But as I turned to walk away, A TEAR fell from my eye, for all my life, I d always thought, I didn t want to die. I had so much to live for, So much left yet to do, It seemed almost impossible, That I was leaving you. I thought of all the yesterdays, The good ones and the bad, I thought of all we shared All the fun we had. If I could relive yesterday, Just even for a while I d say good-bye and kiss you and maybe see you smile. But this could never be, If Tomorrow Starts Without Me by David Romano For emptiness and memories, would take the place of me. And when I thought of worldly things I might miss come tomorrow, I thought of you, and when I did, My heart was filled with sorrow. But when I walked through heaven s gate I felt so much at home When God looked down and smiled at me From His great golden throne, He said, This is eternity, and all that I Promised you. Today your life on earth is past, But here life starts anew, I promise no tomorrow, But today will always last, And since each day s the same way, There s no longing for the past. You have been so faithful, So trusting and so true, Though there were times you did some things, You know you shouldn t do, But you have been forgiven, and now at last You re free. So won t you come and take my hand, And share my life with me? So when tomorrow starts without me, Don t think we re far apart, For every time you think of me, I m right here, in your heart.

6 Langston Hughes Mother to Son ` Well, son, I ll tell you; Life for me ain t been no crystal stair. It s had tacks in it, And splinters, And boards torn up, And places with no carpet on the floor- -Bare. But all the time I se been a-climbin on, And reachin landin s, And turnin corners, And sometimes goin in the dark Where there ain t been no light. So boy, don t you turn back. Don t you set down on the steps Cause you finds it s kinder hard. Don t you fall now- - For I se still goin, honey, I se still climbin, And life for me ain t been no crystal stair. ` Jewels and Drew, age 1 ½ at the pool in Decatur Jewels and Maxwell, age 3, in Decatur

7 From the Family Album... Jewette and George Reynolds Baby Jewette Christmas at age 2 Mother and Father Miss Fisk Tom Thumb Wedding, age 6 Fisk Jubilee Singers FAMILY & FRIENDS... Ms. Cowan s grandparents the Gamlins, with her mother, uncle and aunt in Tuskegee, Alabama

8 Japan With a Neighbor in Japan Wedding In 1961 Traveling with Friends Wedding in 1961 With Husband in Japan Jewette! The Mad Hatter!

9 With Sincere Gratitude Our hearts have been comforted by your many calls, flowers, cards, prayers and visits. Thank you for the many acts of kindness that you have shown to us. Christopher, Lynne, Maxwell and Drew Reynolds Funeral Home, Inc. Serving the Community since 1929