VOLUME 33, ISSUE 1

A dear member of the executive leadership of our society, Charles Cowles M.D., passed away on December 26th while on vacation with his family. Charles was a devoted husband, father, and servant of the Lord. Charles leaves behind his beloved wife Jennifer and three boys: Christopher (13), Caleb (7) and Jake (4).

His greatest treasure was his adoring family. Charles loved sharing family stories and photos with his friends and colleagues and could always find humor in the chaos of raising three boys. His love for Jennifer was profound.

Charles was a physician, practicing anesthesiology at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. His love for medicine began as a young man, when he worked as an Emergency Medical Technician and firefighter. With those experiences, he decided to pursue a career in medicine and attended medical school at UT Health Science Center Houston. His background in emergency management was used daily as an anesthesiologist. Outside of his career in medicine, he continued to remain active in the community fire department and served as a medical director for the Pasadena, Texas Police Department. He was also very involved in organized medicine for his specialty at the state and national levels. Charles served on the TSA Executive Committee as the society’s Assistant Treasurer. He also served as a board member of the Texas Medical Association Insurance Trust (TMAIT). He was known around the community as a problem-solver. Dr. Cowles was able to make the most difficult challenges simple by breaking them down methodically and, because of that, he was a mentor and pillar of support for many.

Charles was also actively involved in his church, First Baptist Church of Pasadena. His love for Christ has been passed down to his children and we pray this will give them strength during this time.

Charles had such a large presence and touched the lives of so many around him. Because of this, Charles had many friends in all walks of life. A term “FOC”, Friends of Cowles, was even coined to describe this large group of people. Friends described him as a grand storyteller. He was a jokester and his laugh was contagious. The memory of his ability to find humor in everything will keep a smile on our faces when we think of him.

Many of the “FOC” have asked how they can help during this difficult time. Dr. Cowles would want his family to be well taken care of. Jennifer was injured in the car accident and suffered a severe leg injury. She has since had one surgery and will require more in the near future. His close colleagues felt it was best to contribute to a fund that will help with making day to day life easier for his family during this difficult time. Thus, the FOC established the Charles Cowles Memorial Fund. Charles will be dearly missed by all.