Life Sketch Junior Cowan In 1946, Junior Cowan was born in Chicago, Illinois. As a young child he moved to southwest Missouri. Of course, Junior would say Missour-uh, not Missour-ee and he would correct anyone who said it the wrong way. At age 12, he moved to his grandparents' farm. He loved farming and his two horses, Diamond and Trigger. His grandfather always called him "Little Man." He also hunted for small game, and enjoyed telling his children about the delicacies he enjoyed as a child like beans, cornbread, possum, and squirrel brains. At Strafford High School, he played basketball and baseball and was Mr. SHS his senior year. As the oldest, he helped raise his 4 younger siblings, Susan, Nancy, John, and Tim. He made a point to always take his siblings to the Baptist Church, even though he was underage to drive. He also taught a Sunday School class. He made sure to take his siblings to events at school. To help his grandparents make ends meet, he worked several jobs during high school. He had a hay baling operation, and had his young brothers drive his 1936 Federal hay truck while he loaded the hay. During his life, Junior had some misfortunes. He liked to tell the story of when he was hit by a train in a Ford Pinto as he was distracted by someone waving at him trying to get him to stop. Or the time a stack of lawnmowers fell on him in a retail store. Of course it wasn't all bad luck. Sometimes his driving skills got him into trouble. There was the time he rolled a car, got out, flipped it over, and drove on. He liked to drive fast. He also liked to wave at every single car that went by in the other direction. He would even wave at fence posts. Of course, he had to stop to talk to everyone he knew. And he thought he knew everybody. As a young man, Junior served in the Marine Reserves, and was always very proud of his service. He spent his twenties doing several jobs, including selling Filter Queen vacuums door-to-door and working at a chemical plant in Michigan. In his early twenties, Junior joined the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. As he was studying and being convicted he went into a bank on a Saturday morning—when he should have been at church—and there was an earthquake. From that time on he attended church every Sabbath morning. After joining the Adventist Church, he worked as a colporteur in St. Louis. Then he went to Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, Tennessee, as he put it, "so he could find a Southern Belle." There he met and fell in love with Carol Lynn Widing who was decidedly un-southern. Although she was a belle, she was from central Michigan, not the south. While at Collegedale, he helped to build several churches. He also earned a pilot's license. He dreamed of becoming a missionary pilot. One of his favorite stories was of the time his radio quit, and he had to fly through a thunderstorm without radio contact. God protected him and allowed him to land safely. In 1975, Junior and Carol returned to the Ozarks to raise a family. Over the next ten years, they had four children, Klint, Kyle, Kurtis, and Kristin. Junior started a construction company and built homes all around the Springfield area. He enjoyed serving as elder at the Oak Grove Heights Seventh-Day Adventist Church, and preached at many small churches throughout southwest Missouri. He and Carol also loved working with the youth. As directors of the Pathfinders, they took kids on camping trips and taught them outdoor skills. Junior also became active in his community, coaching little league baseball, running for State Representative, and serving as Mayor of Strafford for four years. After several back injuries, Junior returned to college in mid-life. He obtained a history degree from Southern Baptist University and a Master's of Education from Drury University. He then became a teacher in the Seventh-Day Adventist school system. He taught and served as principal for junior high and high schools in Michigan, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri. His students loved him. His last years were spent in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he dedicated his life to helping others. He loved serving Tulsa Adventist Fellowship, and volunteering at American Legion Post 1. His love for people led him to make friends everywhere he went, including his local bank, insurance company, car dealerships, neighbors, and fast food restaurants. His local Taco Bell didn't even make him pay for his food. When he walked in the door, they would have a tray of food ready to go. The manager would come and sit with him, and he talked to all the people who should be working, and to the other customers. Just a couple days ago, his car insurance agent called to check up on him, and told his family how he had called her and told her that he was having heart surgery and if anything should happen, he wanted her to know that she was the best insurance agent he had ever had. She couldn't believe that anyone would do that. For the last three years Junior was blessed with being a grandfather. His grandkids called him Papa, and loved being with him. Early this year, he purchased a motor home and drove his wife to spend a few months with her parents in Arizona, which fulfilled their dream of seeing the southwestern United States. For all the relationships he had on earth, he understood that the most important relationship he had was with his heavenly Father. And because of his close relationship with Jesus and his desire to share that with others, he left these words. "Give God the credit for any good I did or inflicted on those I knew or served. Make known that I had entrusted Jesus, the Son of the Living God, with my eternal life."