More detail on this person: Died from Diabetes
Mellitus.
Robert Howard Cowen was a good friend of mine.
He was 57 years young when he passed away on
Thursday, 09 January 2003, at the family home in
Pacific Grove, California. Howard Cowen, Bob's
Father, was overseas serving in the Navy during
WWII, at the time of the birth of his first born
on April 10, 1945, in Monterey. Bob was a
lifetime resident of Pacific Grove, excluding the
years he lived in Big Sur and his four years in
the military. Bob and I went to school from
kindergarten through 8th grade. We were
competitors, we would raised the bar for each
other. He'd push, I'd push back. I would do
something well, Bob would do it better. Bob
would kick fanny, I would top that, or try to.
Our teacher, Mrs. Spangenberg, had us work
together in the 3rd grade, laying out the
playground for the volley ball courts, tether
ball, four square, and other school yard games.
We did a good job. At least they let us back into
the classroom. And that was good! Bob helped me
win the SERGEANT AT ARMS council position in
the sixth grade. He designed a skit in the
school assembly during the speeches and turned
the tide my way. We topped the two other 6th
grade classes in flag football: Bob was the
quarterback, I was one of the halfbacks. We
kicked the other teams' "asspirations" all to
heck. And back. We had a great teacher and
coach in Mr. Nelson, who showed us how to
organize, and to win.
Unfortunately, Mr. Nelson passed away the next
year. My family left the Monterey Peninsula in
1959 and I lost track of Bob. He graduated from
Pacific Grove High School in 1963, and joined the
U.S. Army in 1964. He completed his basic
training at Ft. Ord and Warrant Officer Rotary
Wing Aviator Course (WORWAC) with Class 65-1W
(Helicopter Flight Training) at Ft. Rucker,
Alabama. He completed his flight training in the
top ten of his class, just two days before his
20th birthday. After the Official Graduation
Ceremony on April 13th , he took the routine leave
time and then was sent to Southeast Asia. Bob
served in Vietnam and received the Army Aviation
Badge, Purple Heart, Air Medal with 5 Oak Leaf
Clusters, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam
Campaign Medal and one Overseas Bar. He also
received a special award of the Air Medal with V
Device for Heroism (Sixth Oak Leaf Cluster) on
Oct. 23, 1965. He obtained the rank of Chief
Warrant Officer 2. Bob returned from Vietnam and
worked as an Instructor Pilot at Fort Wolters for
the Army for two years until his Honorable
Discharge in 1968.
He then worked for Southern Airways of Texas, Inc.
as a Contracted Flight Instructor to teach Primary
Flight Training to Army Student Pilots at Fort
Wolters Primary Helicopter School for two years,
until July 1970. He also was a member of The
National Guard of the State of Texas for a time
while living in Texas with the rank of CWO2. He
later worked as an Instructor Pilot for Doss
Aviation, Inc., at Fort Rucker, Alabama, teaching
Primary Flight training to Army flight students. .
He also worked for Columbia Helicopter Inc. in
support of logging operations in Northern
California and transported surveyors for the James
Bay Hydroelectric Project out of Quebec, Canada,
as a Helicopter Pilot for Trans Quebec
Helicopters, Ltd. Bob and his brothers worked
together in their business, "Tub Technics", in
Pacific Grove for about seven years. Bob was a
past member of the Civil Air Patrol, Boy Scout
Troop 115, Monterey Peninsula Order of DeMolay,
Pacific Grove Kiwanis Club and was a past
director of the Pacific Grove High School Alumni
Association. The next time I ran into Bob was
when we had High School Class Reunions in 1988
and 1993. It was very good to see Bob again, to
shoot the BS, compare notes and life. It was
interesting how our lives had continued to
parallel each other: the Army and Helicopter
Flight School, Fort Wolters and Fort Rucker. We
probably passed each other at Wolters in 1968,
without realizing we both were there at the same
time. I tried to get Bob to come to the Vietnam
Helicopter Pilots Association (VHPA) Reunion in
Santa Clara, California, in July 1996. It didn't
work out for him at the time, and that was the
last time I was in touch with him. Bob had just
recently been diagnosed for Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder and given 100% disability from the VA,
and was finally able to make great plans for his
future. But his health had considerably
deteriorated by the time this was determined. His
death certificate listed "Diabetes Mellitus" as a
"contributing cause of death". The VA
representative noted it could be caused by Agent
Orange for which Bob was continuously being
tested. This Diabetes showed up just a few months
before his passing. Bob is survived by his
parents, Howard and Wynette Cowen of Pacific
Grove; two sisters, Barbara Seubert of Windsor
and Kathy Ireland of Lakewood, Colo.; three
brothers, Ron Cowen of Seaside, Gary Cowen of
Prunedale and Ken Cowen of Big Sur; and nine
nieces and nephews. The family suggests that any
memorial contributions be made to Alcoholics
Anonymous, 1015 Cass St., Monterey 93940, any
Alcoholics Anonymous Chapter, or to the Pacific
Grove High School Alumni Association, P.O. Box
51396, Pacific Grove 93950-6396. A Memorial
Celebration was held at the family home on 18
January 2003.
The Cowen Family asks that any "Memories of
Bob" be sent to their Family Home at 507
Beaumont Avenue, Pacific Grove, CA 93950 -
4905. I wish I had tried harder, had done more to
stay in touch with Bob. Life is precious, Life is
fragile, Life is uncertain, and can be gone much
too quickly. Reach out and contact your buds,
today. Life is uncertain and can be far, far too
short.
From: Jim Carroll Jones, 1LT, US ARMY, ORWAC
68-36, "Captain Magic"
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site: 10/13/2025
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