Ray (Ret) Col. Cowan, MD USAF

Dr. Cowan earned Bachelor's and medical degrees from Wake Forest University & Bowman Gray in 1954 and 1957, respectively. He served in the US Air Force for 34 years and over that time his awards included Meritorious Service Medals from the Department of Defense and the Air Force, Commendation Medals from the Joint Services, including the Humanitarian Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster. Upon his retirement as the director of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) he received the Department of Defense Medal for Superior Service.

Following military retirement, Dr. Cowan joined his friend, Joseph Black, M.D., as a partner in the pathology department at Hilton Head Hospital in South Carolina from 1986 until 1993. He later retired from practice and settled in San Antonio, TX in 2017.

Dr. Cowan married Joan Prescott of Pine Grove, PA in 1957. Together they traveled wherever the Air Force sent them and continued traveling after his retirement, visiting every continent except Antarctica!

Dr. Cowan had a variety of interests and was skilled in making and fixing things…. or keeping broken things on the workbench to be fixed at some point! Memories of him by his daughters include ski trips, working on the family cars, building and repairing things in and around the house, his love of photography, from taking pictures through developing and tinting them, and his belief that you should always be your best in every endeavor.

In 2014, Dr. Cowan married Joy Slusser of Asheville, North Carolina.

He is survived by his wife, Joy Slusser Cowan, his three daughters and six grandchildren: Nancy Cowan Berlin (Dore) of Fairfax, VA; Katherine Elizabeth Cowan Caldwell (Stan) of Okinawa, Japan, their children: Sgt. Bryan Caldwell, USMC (Haley) and Paige Caldwell; Frances Cowan Wood (Chris) of Naples, FL, their children: Steve (Meredith) Wood, Stephanie Wood, Bob Wood and Jennifer Wood. Joan Prescott Cowan preceded him in death in March 2013.

Dr. Cowan will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery at a date to be determined.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in the name of William R. Cowan to your favorite charity.