Symon B. Cowles

He is survived by his beloved wife of 67 years, Maryjane Christine Palihnich Cowles and their cherished children, Lisa G. Cowles of New York City, Stephen B. Cowles and his wife, Victoria Cowles of Ridgefield, Connecticut as well as their adored granddaughters, Emma Lucille Cowles and Ava Estelle Cowles.

In the decades Symon shared with Christine and their children, much of their time and affection was spent with their extended family of four-legged members… the Cowles Dachshunds…Bubby, Rocky, Bonnie, Happy, Winnie and Buddy.

Symon was born in Brooklyn, NY in the summer of 1926 in the prelude to the great depression of 1929. At the age of 14, he was employed as an apprentice at a men’s haberdashery shop while attending classes at Boy’s High School. In that period, he discovered an interest in design and fine art and spent much of his free time visiting the Brooklyn Museum of Art and local art galleries.

After graduation from high school in 1944 he enlisted in the U.S. Army as a 17-year old and was trained as an infantry soldier, and was assigned to the historic Americal Division on Cebu in the Philippine Islands. When the Japanese surrendered in 1945, his division was moved to Japan where they were assigned to help manage the peace accord. The following year he received his discharge from the Army and was awarded the U.S. Combat Infantry Badge with Two Battle Stars, The Army of Occupation Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal and the Ribbon of the Philippines Liberation.

He soon returned to civilian life in New York, matriculating at the City College of New York (CCNY) where he majored in both English and Social Sciences. The subjects that most interested him were creative writing and art studies. Upon graduation he received Bachelor and Master of Science degrees. His art education continued later with studies at the Art Students League of New York and The Yard School of Art in Montclair, NJ.

His future career path was determined by destiny when he was accepted as a clerk in the advertising department mail room at Warner Bros. Pictures in New York. After 3 months in that position, he was assigned as a writer in the Warner Bros. Pressbook Department which created and published the marketing manuals designed to assist motion picture theaters in advertising and promoting the company’s feature films. One year later he was promoted to Director of the Department with responsibility for writing, designing and publishing pressbooks for more than 50 motion pictures. During this period of time, he became proficient in copywriting, design, typography and public relations.

When the company moved the advertising offices to California, Symon resigned in order to remain in New York where he had met and was engaged to Christine, a registered nurse who had graduated from Georgetown University School of Nursing. In 1958 they were wed in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.

Soon after their idyllic honeymoon on St. Thomas Island in the Caribbean, Symon was hired as Director of Promotion and Public Relations at WCKT-TV in Miami Beach, Florida. During that period their son, Stephen was born.

Following a successful 10-month association at the station he was offered a similar position at the Metromedia company’s TV station, WTTG-TV in Washington, D.C. He accepted the position and happily moved to a home in the Georgetown section of Washington D.C. where daughter Lisa was born.

Symon’s contribution to the growing success of the station drew the attention of the Metromedia’s corporate headquarters in New York City and he was promoted to Director of Advertising and Promotion for the company’s flagship station, WNEW-TV. He was also given the responsibility for promoting 4 other Metromedia stations across the country. The station group grew to become the most successful independently owned TV stations in the country.

In 1961, the Cowles family established residence in Glen Ridge, New Jersey where they lived for the next 30 years. In the years that followed the family also resided at the New Jersey Shore in Sea Girt and Spring Lake. At each of their new homes, Symon established an art studio where he developed his technique and skill in creating original paintings that became the core of his second career.

He was soon accepted as a member of the historic Salmagundi Club for artists in New York and his work was exhibited in art galleries in New Jersey and New York City. In 2006, he applied and qualified for membership as an Exhibiting Artist Member in New York City at the National Arts Club. Here he received awards in six consecutive annual juried competitions. In addition, his still life painting of the iconic American sports symbol, “A Baseball”, was accepted into the permanent collection of American Art at the museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas. He was also invited to present consecutive annual solo exhibitions of his paintings at the Union League Club’s art gallery on Park Avenue in New York City.

Concurrent with the move to New Jersey, Mr. Cowles accepted an offer from the American Broadcasting Company to be Director of Advertising and Promotion of the ABC Owned and Operated Stations Division (ABC O&O’s), responsible for managing the marketing operations of its television stations in five major markets across the country.

Symon was instrumental in the development of a unique identity for the five-station group which facilitated programming and marketing opportunities for audiences and advertisers. In that period, he was also responsible for the creation and production of successful multimedia sales presentations in each of the five station’s markets. Soon the ABC O&O’s became the leading stations in their markets in audience ratings and advertising sales.

In 1967, the success of the “O&O Division” led to his promotion to Director of the television network’s Sales Development Department with responsibility for conception, creation and production of materials promoting the sale of advertising time during the ABC Television Network’s programming, as well as the creation and management of the network’s conferences, major sales presentations and affiliates’ meetings.

In 1977, the ABC Television Network added to Symon’s responsibilities when he was promoted to Vice President of Creative Services. This newly created position included supervision of five of the company’s departments involved with advertising, in-house television campaigns, sales development, conference planning and corporate art and design.

In that same year, ABC presented “ROOTS”, fated to be the one of the most successful television programs of all time. The Creative Services Department contributed to the program’s extraordinary audience ratings and advertising sales. In the years that followed ABC rose from the 3rd rated network to number 1 propelled by its very successful program schedule and a marketing campaign keynoted by a popular video that sang of ABC – “Still The One!”

In the 1980’s ABC became involved with the development of cable Television and Mr. Cowles served in helping to establish the promotional capabilities of the Arts & Entertainment Cable Network (A&E) and the sports network, (ESPN) where he supervised the development of the brand identities of those companies.

In 1984 ABC explored extending its image and services overseas. Once again, the company assigned Symon to participate in a project in which ABC executives worked in partnership with The Montidore Corporation to create a new television network in Milan, Italy. The TV network soon launched with the name, Rete Quatro (Network 4).

In 1985 Mr. Cowles retired from ABC to launch his eponymous creative marketing consultancy, Cowles & Company, in service of the broadcasting industry, and to concentrate on his artistic interests.

In 1991, at its annual convention in Baltimore, Maryland, PROMAX, the broadcasting industry’s international marketing organization elected Symon Cowles to its Hall of Fame for his contributions to the industry.

In 2000 Symon and Christine were welcomed as members into the Green Gables Croquet Club in Spring Lake NJ where they participated in helping the development of the club by actively serving on the club’s Board and many committees and creating the club’s promotional materials. In 2020 Symon and Christine were named as Members Emeritus in appreciation of his longtime service to the club.

Throughout his active career Mr. Cowles contributed pro-bono artistic skills to volunteer-oriented, not-for-profit, organizations by creating programs for their growth and development. These included The Garden Club of Montclair, NJ and The City Garden Club of New York City where he was elected to Honorary Life Member. On a personal level he has also been a member of the University Club of New York, as well as the Spring Lake Golf Club and the Spring Lake Bath and Tennis Club in New Jersey.

In his later years, he was content to be retired and enjoyed his New York City life with his Wife and Family.

A visitation for Symon will be held Wednesday April 2, 2025 from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm with a memorial service at 4:00pm during the visitation. Walter B. Cooke Funeral Home 352 East 87th Street, New York, NY 10128. He will than be laid to rest at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in East Hanover, NJ