William A. Cowles

January 10, 1918 - November 29, 2012 WILLIAM A. COWLES JR. William A. Cowles Jr. of Applewood, born Jan 10, 1918 in Albany NY to William Allen Cowles and Nell Markham Combes died peacefully at home on Nov 29, 2012. He was preceded in death by his parents and one brother. In 1923 Bill moved to Syracuse, NY where he grew up. He graduated from Nottingham High School in 1935 and Syracuse University in 1941 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. He played basketball at Collegiate Center and was a member of Tau Beta Pi, engineering honorary, and Theta Tau, national professional engineering fraternity. After graduation, he was hired by Babcock Wilcox Company to which he returned in 1946 after the war. On June 20, 1942 he was married to Elizabeth Ann Akin by Dean Charles Noble at Hendricks Chapel, Syracuse University. He was commissioned as LT JG in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and served in Brooklyn, NY and San Francisco, CA where he was assigned to the Bureau of Ship Repair. He lived in Huntington, WV; Brooklyn, NY; Greenwich Village, NY; Barberton, OH; Forest Hills, Long Island; San Francisco; Syracuse; and Ossining, NY before moving to Colorado in 1960. While in the east, Bill and Betty spent summers with their 5 children in Wolfeboro, NH on beautiful Lake Winnepesaukee. He was active in the Ossining Highland Avenue Methodist Church where he was a trustee, on the building committee for a church addition, and chairman of the building fund. He was president of the Briarcliff Cooperative Nursery School in Scarborough, NY. He served as Chairman of the Trustees at Applewood Valley United Methodist church. Bill was once an avid golfer, proud of shooting a hole in one on September 13, 1969 on the Broadmoor Hotel's West Golf Course, and he skied until he was 80. He loved taking the family skiing in the winter and boating in the summer on Lake Granby. He was a former member of Rolling Hill Country Club, Grand Lake Golf Course, and the Colorado Senior Golf Association. He also enjoyed belonging to the Applewood Soiree Dance Club and several couples bridge groups. Bill was a member of the Engineers Club in New York City and San Francisco, and Rocky Mountain Electric League in Denver. He worked for Babcock Wilcox and the Stock Equipment Company, a division of General Signal Company, covering the western region (west coast, NE, KS, WY, CO) in the power industry to include a system for nuclear power plants. He is survived by his beloved spouse of 70 years, 5 children (Jeanne E. Koss of Colorado Springs, John H. Cowles of Denver, Cynthia A. Alyea of Arvada, William A. Cowles III of Palisade, and Charles A. Cowles of Applewood), 11 grandchildren, and 21 great grandchildren.