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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Family and friends were deeply saddened by the |
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passing of Frances Elaine Cowen of Tyler on April 13, 2025, at the |
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age of 85; and |
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WHEREAS, Frances Jones was born in El Dorado, Arkansas, on |
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October 4, 1939, to Oliver Louis Jones and Eunice McCartney Jones; |
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she grew up with the companionship of five brothers and one sister, |
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and she graduated from Chapel Hill High School in Tyler; and |
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WHEREAS, Over the course of her life, Frances was blessed |
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with a large and loving family; she had four sons, Douglas, Derek, |
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Stephen, and Kenneth, with her first husband, Edward Thomas Gilpin; |
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later, she and her husband of 50 years, Kenneth D. Cowen, welcomed |
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two daughters, Amy and Emily, and she also became stepmother to his |
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children, Ken, Mary, and Tammy; and |
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WHEREAS, Mrs. Cowen began her career as a proofreader and |
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typesetter at the Dallas Times Herald, and she also worked in |
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advertising and data entry; once her daughters were in high school, |
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she returned to school herself and earned a bachelor's degree in |
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psychology; she went on to complete a master's degree in special |
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education, and she taught in the Mesquite Independent School |
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District until she retired; and |
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WHEREAS, A woman of deep faith, Mrs. Cowen was an active |
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member of Tyler Tabernacle United Pentecostal Church and Abundant |
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Life Temple in Gladewater; she cherished time spent with her |
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numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and she also |
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enjoyed traveling, reading, and playing dominoes; and |
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WHEREAS, Frances Cowen lived a life that was rich in family |
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and friends, and those who were privileged to share in her love and |
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affection will forever hold her close in their hearts; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the Senate of the 89th Texas Legislature |
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hereby pay tribute to the memory of Frances Elaine Cowen and extend |
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sincere sympathy to the members of her family: to her sister, Nora |
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Porter; to her children, Douglas Gilpin and his wife, Claudia, |
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Derek Gilpin and his wife, Peggy, Stephen Gilpin and his wife, |
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Karran, Amy Clardy, and Emily Starkey and her husband, Buddy; to her |
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stepchildren, Ken Thompson and his wife, Reba, Mary Tyner, and |
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Tammy Campbell; to her 13 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren; |
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and to her other relatives and friends; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for her family and that when the Texas Senate adjourns this |
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day, it do so in memory of Frances Cowen. |