Nicole Cowan

As Albus Dumbledore noted, "To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure." On November 16, 2024, Nicole Marie Cowan embarked on her next adventure after a 4-year battle with bile duct cancer. Born on March 29, 1987, in Concord, California, Nicole was brave, daring, and bold from the beginning.

After a childhood of swimming, water polo, and teenage shenanigans, Nicole attended Oregon State University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in chemistry despite her disdain for advanced calculus. In college, she spent her weekends carving a carousel horse with her Grandpa "Old Man" Rich who deemed her "Varmint." She later graduated from American Military University with a master's degree in National Security Studies.

Nicole dedicated nearly 12 years of service as an intelligence officer in the U.S. Air Force finding things that did not want to be found. She was particularly proud of achieving the pinnacle of signals intelligence nerdom by graduating the prestigious Junior Officer Cryptologic Career Program.

She was a world traveler, amassing passport stamps from 37 countries. Nicole slept in hotels made of ice; rode camels in the barren desert; navigated winding, unmarked streets in cliffside villages; traversed the jungle; ran with the bulls; and sampled countless foods her children would never dream.

She was also unable to stop herself making almost everything from scratch, including pastas, breads, cakes shaped like peregrine falcons or Minecraft characters, macarons; eight years of Halloween costumes from Mario to Pokémon; stationary for any event; custom cabinetry for too small closets; beautiful paintings; and far too many others to list.

She is survived by her husband, Nick; sons, Grayson and Weston; her parents, Pam and Keith; her sisters, Rochelle and Lauren; an entire collection of Harry Potter fan fiction; and a years-old sourdough starter. All of whom are deeply grateful for the time spent with her.

Nicole will be interred at Willamette National Cemetery on March 14, 2025.

In lieu of flowers or physical gift, consider a memorial contribution to the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation at www.cholangiocarcinoma.org.