Clyde Cordrey Cowart

Clyde grew up in the Philadelphia, PA area where he was the third of 4 sons born to his mother Jewel and his dad Clyde. While

in Junior High Clyde met his lifelong sweetheart, Ann, and both graduated from Haverford High School, Clyde one year before

Ann. Clyde worked as a Service Station Mechanic and a Truck Driver before joining the Navy during the Korean War. While in

the Navy Clyde and Ann got married in Philadelphia in August 1953, and spent the remainder of his Navy service in San Diego,

where his oldest son Steve was born in 1955, just weeks before Clyde’s discharge and cross-country road trip back to

Philadelphia.

The small family lived with Ann’s Grandmother in Philadelphia where Clyde began his IBM career as a Customer Engineer.

Clyde and Ann’s second son, Larry, was born in 1958, not long after they bought their first home in Swarthmore. While living in

Swarthmore, Clyde and Ann joined the local Methodist Church where Clyde sang in the choir and began teaching the bible

during Sunday School each week. This was the start of Clyde’s bible teaching career, which he continued throughout his life in

every community he called home. During their time in Swarthmore Ann and Clyde made many wonderful friends, took vacations

in Ocean City and the Pocono Mountains, and in 1964 accepted a transfer to San Jose, CA, where Clyde was promoted to a

Service Planning Representative working at the San Jose IBM Plant on Cottle Road. It wasn’t long until they joined the Blossom

Hill Baptist Church and Clyde continued his bible teaching and service as a deacon.

After 5 years in San Jose Clyde was offered another promotion to Instructor of the mainframe IBM 360 series computers in

Kingston NY, which he and Ann accepted and settled in Woodstock, just 20 miles from Kingston in the Catskill Mountains. What

a change in locale and lifestyle, from metropolitan San Jose to Woodstock NY, where each home had 2 acres of woods. This

was the home of homes for the Cowart’s which both sons consider the very best 3 years of their young lives.

After 3 years in Woodstock, the Cowart’s returned to San Jose, this time to stay. They settled in the Almaden valley where Clyde

and Ann joined South Hills Community Church on Carter Rd. Once again Clyde and Ann served the body through teaching the

High School and College groups. Clyde joined the Elder Board and served as Pastor of Administration while Ann became the

Church Office manager. The couple hosted and taught a myriad of evening Bible Studies until settling in the Villages 20 some

years later. It was while living in the Villages that Ann was called Home to be with her Lord, an immeasurable loss that Clyde

battled with until his own call Home just a couple weeks ago.

While perfectly true, this brief summary does not reflect the scope or depth of impact Clyde had on all our lives, and the lives of

so many others including Steve and Larry’s families, their children and grandchildren.