Vivien M. Rowan

VIVIEN M. ROWAN  
On March 26, 2011, VIVIEN M. ROWAN of Washington, DC, wife of the late Diplomat and award-winning journalist, Carl T. Rowan, passed away quietly surrounded by her family. Born in Texarkana, AK, she was raised in Buffalo, NY, where she was a child tennis champion, often playing against boys in order to find adequate competition. She attended Fisk University and graduated from the University of Minnesota, where she received her B.S. in nursing. While at the university, she met her future husband of 50 years, who was a journalism student there. She spent years as a school nurse in Minnesota until moving to Washington, DC in 1961, when her husband was appointed to a senior State Department position in the Kennedy administration.  She was a wonderful mother to her three surviving children, Barbara Jones of Clifton, VA, Carl Rowan, Jr. and Dr. Jeffrey Rowan, both of Washington, DC. She was a loving grandmother to four grandchildren and a devoted great-grandmother to five great-grandchildren. Throughout her life she remained an avid tennis player and supporter of inner-city youth tennis programs. The family will conduct a private service. In lieu of flowers, contributions to the Washington Tennis and Education Foundation, 16th and Kennedy Sts., NW, Washington, DC 20011, would be appreciated.