Jesse James and Mattie Lucy (Nelms) Cowan in Lee County, Virginia near the Leona Mine. He was known by his family as "Ike" because he looked so much like his grandfather Isaac Lee Joseph Cowan.
He was a mischievous rascal as a little boy and got into plenty of scrapes with his brothers and friends.
He served in U.S. the Navy for three years and was an electrician's mate. He was stationed on the U.S.S.
Interdictor in San Francisco, California. While in San Francisco, he met and married Barbara Louise Pulley on September 18, 1964. After an honorable discharge, he and Barbara moved to the Salt Lake City, Utah are where their first daughter, Maren Louise was born in 1967. He worked for Kennecott Utah Copper for a time before relocating to southern California, where his second daughter, Jacqueline Aileen was born in1969.
While in southern California, he attended Cal Tech to become an electrician and the family lived in
both Maywood and La Mirada for many years. He worked for Latchford Glass, later Anchor Glass, as a
maintenance electrician before retiring. Cecil and Barbara relocated to West Jordan, Utah, where he took
a job at Kennecott Utah Copper as a maintenance electrician and retired a second time.
After Barbara passed away in 2005, he reconnected with his childhood friend, Joyce Scott and they
married on December 12, 2012 in Kentucky. Later, they moved to Andersonville, Tennessee. Cecil loved
living there.
He was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He rarely attended church but always supported Barbara and his daughters in all of their callings and activities. He loved having the missionaries over for dinner and would always send them on their way with a bag of goodies or fruit and even a coat on one occasion.
Cecil will be remembered as a "flawsome" person, a flawed but still awesome person. He was a loving
husband and father and a good friend. He could fix almost anything and would always be willing to fix
things for family and friends. He could be stubborn and hold a grudge. He was often quiet but also very
funny and enjoyed telling stories about his adventures. He worked very hard and expected his co-workers
to do the same. He was known by some of his co-workers as "Little Hitler" because he expected a job to be done well and in a timely manner. He made friends easily and could make almost anyone feel comfortable and at home.
He loved his wives and daughters fiercely and was very protective of them. When his daughters were teenagers and were dating, he would give the boys "The Speech" and lay out his rules of expected conduct and the consequences of not obeying his rules. His consequences involved a shovel and a one way trip to the desert. He was gentle and loved babies and little children and they loved him
back. He was the neighborhood "dentist" for many years, pulling the loose teeth of all the neighborhood
kids with a bit of dental floss. He loved his nieces, nephews, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and always had a treat for them when they came over to visit.
Cecil wasn't a perfect person but he was "perfectly perfect" for his family. He was loved dearly and is
sorely missed. He has left a hole that can never be filled.
Fair winds and following seas, Cecil!
Cecil is preceded in death by his parents, wife, Barbara, and eight siblings.
He is survived by his daughters; Maren Vidal (Brian) and Jacqueline Webb. Grandchildren; Miranda Hardesty (Marcus), Madeleine Ramirez (Oscar), Robert Vidal, Nathan Webb and Mariah Webb. Great grandchildren; Ivy Ramirez, Mckenna Hardesty and Ilyana Ramirez. Brothers; Plez (Bud) Cowan, Earl (Dave) Cowan, Richard Cowan and sister; Mabel Ousley, as well as numerous beloved cousins, nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, March 1st 2022, from 6:00PM to 8:00PM at Wasatch Lawn Mortuary located at 3401 S. Highland Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah.
