Robert "Bob" Wayne Cowden

Robert "Bob" Wayne Cowden, 78, of The Villages, Florida, died peacefully at home on May 29, 2021 after a 25-year struggle with Parkinson’s disease.

Bob was born in 1943 in Wise, Virginia to Robert L. & Flossie Cowden, joining older sister Glenda (Wilson) who was 2 years older than him. The family moved to Anderson, Indiana when Bob was 12 years old. He graduated from Anderson High School in 1961 & joined the Army 82 ^nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina (1961-64). While in NC, he met Elaine Gatlin Cowden, of Stonewall, NC & they married in 1965. They moved to Anderson, IN, where he worked for General Motors for 9 ½ years. Bob took night classes at Ball State University, got his commercial Pilot’s license, & instructor’s rating. He did commercial flights for General Motors, taught flying lessons, & was a member of the skydiving group “The Falling Falcons”. He left GM & moved the family to NC in 1974 with the intent of going to crop-duster school, but instead got into the seafood brokering business. He learned the seafood business at Sound Packing Company, ultimately owning the company and finally selling the business to retire in 1995. He also built Point Marina in 1985 & went on to build 2 more marinas & developed 2 subdivisions, Osprey Point, and Cabin Creek (with his brother-in-law, Maurice Benton).  After the attempt to “retire” was unsuccessful (because he always needed to be doing something), he started All Star Gutters, a seamless gutter business, that he ran until 1998 when he made the decision to sell due to progressing symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease.

Bob lost his first wife, Elaine, to cancer in 1993. They were blessed with 3 children: Dr. Nerissa Kreher (Beste) of Reading, Massachusetts; Anthony "Tony" Cowden, of Harrells, NC; & Christine "Christy" Street of Raleigh, NC. He is also survived by two grandchildren: Alexander "Alex" Kreher & Elaina Kreher. In 1996, he married Carol Fraser whom he also lost to cancer in 2008. In 2009, he married Katherine Bogardus. They moved to The Villages in 2017.

Bob was an active participant in his community, including serving as Mayor of Stonewall & serving on the Planning and ABC boards in Pamlico County. He was a passionate supporter of Ducks Unlimited and a generous donor to The Village Gallery and The Old Theater in Oriental, NC. He was a volunteer fireman for a time and built a community dock for the Minnesott Golf and Country Club. He lived a full life, always on his own terms, in spite of Parkinson’s, & also died that way. He is now pain free and off to be checked by the big Jumpmaster in the sky. As the saying goes...”Ol' paratroopers don't die, they just slip away." His successes in whatever he pursued serve as an inspiration to all, especially to those with tragic personal losses and long- term degenerative diseases.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Robert & Flossie Cowden, his sister, Glenda Wilson, & his first two wives, Elaine Gatlin Cowden and Carol Ann Cowden.

A visitation will be held on Friday, July 2 ^nd , 2021, from 2-4 pm, followed by a memorial service at 4 pm at Bryant Funeral Home.

His family requests that in lieu of flowers a donation be made to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, Parkinson’s Foundation, Stonewall United Methodist Church, or a charity that means a great deal to you.