1971

santaclaramag@gmail.com

Beloved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, Kirk D. Cowan Jr. MBA ’71 passed away Tuesday, October 27, 2015, surrounded by his family.

Kirk was born at home to Kirk and Margaret (Rohrer) Cowan, in rural Leeds, ND, on April 14, 1936. He attended school in Leeds where he was very involved in school activities and was a member of the 1954 state champion Leeds Lions basketball team. After high school graduation he married his junior high school sweetheart Carol (Copeland).

Kirk loved the land and always wanted to farm. He received a mechanical engineering degree from North Dakota State University and an MBA from University of Santa Clara in California. He worked in the nuclear power industry for nearly 40 years. He worked for General Electric in San Jose, CA while living and farming walnuts in Morgan Hill, CA and worked for WPPSS at Hanford while living and farming apples, cherries and pears in Grandview, WA.

Kirk had John Deere green running through his veins and after retirement immersed himself in farming and collecting and restoring his John Deere 30 series tractors.Kirk loved spending time with his family and friends. He leaves behind Carol, his beloved wife of 61 years; son, David (Susan) of Grandview, WA; daughter, Celeste (Charlie) Fender of La Center, WA; grandchildren, Tracy (Zach) Stroud, Danelle (Nik) Lubisich, Riley Fender, Caeden Fender and great-grandchildren, Mavrick and Axle Stroud. He is also survived by one sister, Diane (Lyle) Long. He was preceded in death by his parents and one sister, Irene Nestegard.

08 Nov 2018