Joe Cowan, 1943 – 2021
Glenna Payne Hartman: I was a travel agent for 30 years, and during that time I reconnected with Joe and became his travel agent. We also became good friends. We actually went to a class reunion together when we were both single because we didn’t want to go alone. Joe was a very interesting person. He always had a story to tell, whether about losing an engine out over the Pacific Ocean or having to make an emergency landing somewhere. Every time I heard on the news a story about a private plane making an emergency landing on a highway, I would say, “Sure hope that isn’t Joe.” I was truly sorry to hear my good friend had died. (Left, Glenna in 1960)
Obituary
Delmar Joe Cowan passed away on Saturday, April 3, 2021. Joe was born in Springdale, Arkansas, on April 11, 1943, to Abraham Cowan and Lillian (Simmons) Cowan.
Joe moved to Wichita with his family in 1954 and started working at age 15. During his senior year at East High School, Joe worked full time at the original Pizza Hut. Having skipped the second grade in Arkansas, he graduated in the spring of 1960 at age 17 and promptly enlisted in the United States Marine Corps (USMC). While in the USMC, Joe served as a Corpora, guarding U.S. Embassies in Africa and India. Joe returned to the U.S. in December 1964 and began pursuing his lifelong love of flying with lessons in January 1965, resulting in his private pilot license in January 1966.
Professionally, Joe set off to see the world, taking an international sales position with Davis Manufacturing and traveling to over 60 different countries in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Joe eventually started his own international export business before entering the computer industry in 1976, when his firm helped initially computerize many businesses across Kansas.
Personally, Joe loved restoring classic Corvettes for many years, before turning his interest in the 1980’s to restoring World War II vintage aircraft. He also expanded his flying experience and became actively involved with the Commemorative Air Force (CAF). In 1986, Joe embarked on another global adventure, co-piloting a restored 1953 twin-engine Beech C-45 over 9,000 miles, from Wichita to Auckland, NZ.
There were many breathtaking moments, including losing an engine nearly three hours off the California coast and skimming the waves of the Pacific Ocean, as well as nearly missing Christmas Island in the South Pacific where a radio beacon had been inadvertently turned off. The 1990’s brought more flying experiences, including giving rides at air shows in his own C-45, affectionately known as Beech Baby. During this time, Joe also became a full-time pilot and flight instructor, ultimately becoming licensed to train pilots to fly Cessna Citation Jets. This led to his taking a job with Flight Safety, where he worked as an instructor from 2001 until his retirement in 2017. In November 2016, Joe received the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award, issued by the FAA to recognize pilots who have exhibited professionalism, skill, and aviation expertise for at least 50 years.
He married Linda J. Thorp in 1967 and they had two children together, a son, Brent and a daughter, Julie. During an airshow in Kansas City Joe ended up finding love again, when he met Marilyn Weld. They were married in the downtown Kansas City Airport in July 1998, with retired Brigadier General Paul Tibbets Jr. serving as Joe’s Best Man.
Joe is survived by Marilyn Weld of Overland Park, KS; son, Brent (Elizabeth) Cowan and granddaughter, Emily Cowan of San Carlos, CA; brother, Larry Cowan of Cache, OK; brother, Bill Cowan of Ontario, CA; and sister, Joye Howe of Albuquerque, NM.
A memorial service will be held at a later date in Cache, OK.
