Obituary of Judith Harcourt Ryder Cowan

Judith Harcourt Ryder Cowan, 85, died peacefully on Wednesday, April 19, 2017, at Edgewood Place in Burlington, N.C. Judy is preceded in death by her parents, Raymond and Marion Ryder; her brother, Bill; her sister, Nancy; and her husband, James. Judy is survived by her four children and their spouses: Catherine Becker and her spouse, Paul; Cynthia Bennett and her spouse, Scott; Christina Benson and her spouse, Michael; and Michael Cowan and his spouse, Hélène. She also leaves six grandchildren: Olivia, Quentin, Jay, Isabel, Stella, and Nolann. Judy was born and raised in Oklahoma City. Her mother worked for the federal government for 30 years at Tinker Air Force Base and the Veterans Administration, while her father taught history at Central High School for 37 years and was the organist at Pilgrim Congregational Church. Judy attended Central High School before majoring in psychology at University of Oklahoma, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa. She was then accepted as one of only three women at University of Oklahoma College of Medicine in 1954, where she graduated first in her class before completing a three-year residency in psychiatry. During this time she met Jim Cowan, then a doctoral student in English at University of Oklahoma, at a folk-singing party. They got married in Norman, Okla., on January 29, 1960, honeymooned in Mexico City, then had their first child in 1963. Shortly afterward the Cowans moved to New Orleans for jobs at Tulane University, where they had their second child in 1964. In 1966, they moved to Fayetteville, Ark., where they had two more children in 1967 and 1971 while Judy worked as a student health service psychiatrist, director of mental health services, then director of student health at University of Arkansas. In 1981 the Cowans moved to Chapel Hill, N.C., where Judy took a job as director of Student Health Services at University of North Carolina, a post she held until 1998. Under her leadership UNC Student Health was accredited as a standalone hospital by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. After her retirement in 1998, she continued to practice psychiatry for several years in Chapel Hill. Judy lived to the fullest, pursuing many passions throughout her life. She was a woman in medicine when such things were exceedingly rare; she renovated houses, played the guitar, and maintained a family vegetable farm. She was also an avid fisher, water-skier, and all-around handywoman. She spent her entire life learning new things, such as building computers in her 50s and learning French in her 70s. She was an avid music lover. Some of her favorite artists included Leonard Cohen, Judy Collins, Judy Garland, George Gershwin, Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Nana Mouskouri, Odetta, Jacques Offenbach, Paul Robeson, Pink Floyd, Pete Seeger, Hector Villa-Lobos, Kurt Weill, Hank Williams, and many more. A service will be held on Sunday, April 23, at Chapel of the Cross, Chapel Hill, from 2 to 2:40 p.m. The service will be immediately followed by a reception on the 2nd Floor of Spanky's restaurant at the corner of Franklin and Columbia Streets in Chapel Hill, where friends and family are welcome to gather for a Celebration of Dr. Cowan's Life. Memorial donations may be sent to Doctors Without Borders (https://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org/onetime.cfm). Family members would like to send their gratitude to Judy's caretakers in her final years, including Barbara Howard†, Alice Singletary, Helen Lamm, and all of the wonderful staff both at Edgewood Place and Hospice of Alamance County. Walker's Funeral Home of Chapel Hill is serving the Cowan family. Online condolences may be offered at www.walkersfuneralservice.com.