Edmund Lewis “Ed” Cogburn, 82, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, the 7th of May 2014, in Houston, Texas. He was born in Okeene, Oklahoma, on the 28th of February 1932, to Gladys and Beryl Cogburn. Ed was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, son, and friend.
Ed spent his formative years in Oklahoma and graduated from Copan High School in 1948. He was a graduate of the University of Texas and the University of Texas School of Law.
Ed was an outstanding student. At the University of Texas School of Law, he was a member of the Editorial Board of the Texas Law Review, Chancellors, Quizmaster, Order of the Coif, and the honorary law fraternity Phi Delta Phi. Ed graduated from law school in 1954, and upon graduation married his beloved Marilyn, to whom he was married for 58 years until her death in 2012. After serving two years in the U. S. Army as a commissioned officer, he spent two years practicing law in San Antonio. In 1958, Ed moved to Houston. He joined, and later became a partner of the law firm that would become Dow, Cogburn, & Friedman, which merged with Winstead, Sechrest & Minick in 2001. He loved the law and continued to practice throughout his life. Ed was board certified as a specialist in both litigation and real estate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He was recognized by his peers as an outstanding lawyer who was not just a student of the law, but also a scholar and teacher of the law. Ed was licensed to practice before the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, the Fifth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals and the U. S. Supreme Court.
Ed was active in the Democratic Party, serving as a member and Parliamentarian of the State Democratic Executive Committee, and a member and supporter of the Harris County Democrats. Most of all, Ed loved his fellow human beings and was always ready to champion the rights of those who were unable to speak for themselves.
Ed was a long time member of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church and an active member of the Harmony Sunday School class. In his leisure time, he was a voracious reader who loved discussing books and sharing stories. Ed was always quick to recite a poem or sing a song. He enjoyed being a resident of the Hallmark community and participating in its choir.
Ed was predeceased by his wife Marilyn, and his father and mother. He is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Brian and Jana Cogburn and his cherished granddaughter, Cara Cogburn.
Friends are cordially invited to a visitation with the family from five o’clock in the afternoon until six o’clock in the evening on Sunday, the 11th of May, in the Jasek Chapel of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston.
A memorial service is to be conducted at half-past eleven o’clock in the morning on Monday, the 12th of May, in the Chapel of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 3471 Westheimer Road in Houston, where Dr. Linda Christians, Executive Pastor, is to officiate.
Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during a reception in the nearby Hines Baker room.
In lieu of customary remembrances, the family requests with gratitude that memorial contributions in Ed’s name be directed to St. Luke's United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 22013, Houston, TX, 77227-2013; or to The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, P.O. Box 4486, Houston, TX, 77210-4486.
Ed will be missed by his family and friends and all those he touched during his lifetime, but his memory will be a blessing and comfort to all who were fortunate enough to have known him.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18