Walter Cowing

1932 - 2022
Walter Cowing, 1932 – 2022, died on May 23, 2022 in Haverford, PA, two days before his 90th birthday. Walter Cowing was a lover of the outdoors, art, and travel. He was a true gentleman in both his manners and his kindness. With a keen sense of humor, Walt was remembered by an old friend as someone "who could make dishwashing at a fraternity house fun".

Walt Cowing was born on May 25, 1932 to Walter C. Cowing Sr. and Ethel Craw Bossa Cowing in Norwalk, CT and grew up in Milford, CT. In 1948, his family made a road trip across the US, a great adventure prior to the creation of the Interstate Highway System. They settled in Albuquerque, NM for Walt to attend high school before continuing to California and then returning to Milford. This trip made a lifelong impression on him, inspiring his love of travel and of the West.

Walt was a graduate of Milford High School in Milford, CT, and Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, where he was a member of the Alpha Chi Rho fraternity. He spent his working career with the Bell System and eventually at AT&T as an economic engineer with a specialty in depreciation.

Walt married Sheila Sasseen in 1956 and they had three daughters, Deborah, Julia and Katherine. The family lived first in Connecticut and then in New Jersey. After retiring in 1988, he and Sheila moved to Santa Fe, NM. Although the couple divorced after the move, they remained friends and both lived in New Mexico for more than three decades. After his divorce, Walt spent close to 20 years with his partner, Cynthia Barber of Albuquerque.

Walt was an avid outdoorsman and began backpacking in the early 1970s. He took advantage of the extensive travel required for his job by adding time to to the trips for backpacking. He completed a number of week-long solo trips into the Sierras and volunteered for many service trips with the Sierra Club and the National Park Service.

Walt was also a passionate artist and craftsman. He painted with oil and watercolors, carved wood, made furniture and was a photographer. He traveled extensively including to Europe, China, and New Zealand and particularly by road trip throughout the US. He claimed to know every bakery with good pastries or pies between California and Nova Scotia.

Walt was pre-deceased by his parents, his ex-wife, Sheila, his brother, Howard Bossa and his daughter, Deborah. He is survived by Julia Cowing of Brooklyn and Kate Cowing of Philadelphia, his sons-in-law Chris Caveglia and Jon Hurdle, respectively; Deborah's husband, Steve Langhans of San Mateo, CA and his two grandchildren, Kelley Langhans of Palo Alto, CA and Michael Langhans of San Mateo, CA. He will be miss by all who knew him.