74° F
2 Joanna Claudine Cowan, 27, died on Friday, July 30, 2010. She was born Feb. 14,
1983 in Lewisville.
She is survived by her parents, Anna Rae and Andy Gilder of Cedar Creek, her brother Harrison Gilder, great-grandmother Marian Claudine Ledbetter and grandparents.
Services were held on Saturday, Aug. 7 in the Weed-Corley-Fish Chapel, followed by interment at Austin Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Joanna’s name to the Animal Trustees of Austin, P.O. Box 14542, Austin, TX 78761-4542.
To share memories and view full obituary please visit www.wcfish.com
Arrangements by Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home in Austin.
Joanna’s death has touched me deeply. She was a young. beautiful woman who meant the world to her friends and family. The tragic and unnecessary circumstances that led to her early passing are simply unbearable.
My dear friend, Joanna’s mother, wrote, “This is the face of the uninsured who died needlessly due to limited medical access – Emergency Room. Rethink your position on Healthcare Reform and the Public Option. Joanna Claudine Cowan was my only daughter. Are your adult children fortunate enough to have health insurance? I hope so…”
and she wrote,
“Thank you for joining us in offering love, respect and remembrance of our precious daughter. We also thank the doctors, nurses and staff at St.David’s South Austin Hospital for their valiant efforts to save our child. Joanna, my beautiful perfect Valentine baby blessed me and everyone who knew and loved her with 27, all too brief, years of unbridled joy, love and devotion.
Before I tell you about Joanna I need; rather must, share this… A friend wrote; “Joanna was not taken, God retrieved her.” I believe this to be true. God stepped in where no other could and freed her.
…….Please everyone, be aware, step up, do the sometimes difficult and always right thing, make a difference, save a woman’s life.
When I think of Joanna; I see her smile, I hear her laugh, I smell her fresh baby scent, I feel her innocence, and remember her gentle touch. Joanna was flowing skirts, cascading curls, silver bracelets and flip flops. Her eyes were an indescribable clear blue. Joanna’s smile rivaled the Mona Lisa’s. Her exuberant laughter; with her head thrown back, and mouth wide open, was infectious. No one could resist sharing her joy. She was natural beauty inside and out; demonstrating selfless generosity for all who were fortunate enough to have crossed her path. She danced into our hearts…..
…….Joanna expressed her sensitivity and social connection with her family and friends. Family was everything to Joanna. She loved her expansive and diverse family deeply, especially her brother who she adored since the moment he was born. Joanna talked about her pride in the young man that he was becoming. She loved her Dads and thought that she was pretty lucky to have two.
She found solace in tending her plants and nurturing her dog, cat and fish.
My hair is long, un-styled and growing grayer with each passing day and it’s because of Joanna. She would say, “Ma, stop coloring your hair, you will look so beautiful with long, silver hair.”
When someone would comment on how much Joanna and I looked alike; Joanna always acknowledged with beaming pride “Thank you, my Momma is beautiful, isn’t she!”
When I have asked Joanna, “What’s the most important thing in the world?” She would invariably respond, “Love.”
I play a sort of game with my children. I will ask them “Who loves you?” Their lists grow longer as they think, remember and say the names; your names. They save “Mom” for the end. And in the end, there is no greater love for a child than that of a devoted Mother.
Andy, Harrison and I will never recover from this tragic loss. Like someone with a chronic pain, we can only learn to live with the constant ache from the hole in our hearts.
We are grateful for the days that Joanna blessed us with. And will forever guard our cherished, treasured memories of her. We will miss our angel baby…”
I love you, Joanna.
Mary
It has been 4 months since Joanna’s passing. Joanna’s Great Grand Mother; whom she was named after, Marian Claudine Ledbetter joined her on November 23rd.
I think of them frequently through out the day and am comforted in knowing that they are together….
Anna Rae