William "Bill" Cowan

William “Bill” Craig Cowan passed away on May 10, 2021, after a courageous 5-year battle with cancer.

Bill was born on December 25, 1939 in Shakopee, MN to Earl B. and Anita Cowan.

Bill was preceded in death by his beloved wife Barbara and siblings Hugh and Ross Cowan.

He is survived by two sons, Craig and Neil, granddaughter Maisie, and daughter in law Jennifer along with siblings Martha Shacklett of Lakewood, CO, Ann Seals of Eugene, OR, and a multitude of loving friends and extended family.

At age 9, his family moved from MN to Rocky Ford, CO where he would go on to graduate from Rocky Ford High School in 1957.

Bill was a proud CSU Ram. He attended Colorado State University where is received a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering in 1961. He received a master’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, WI in 1962.

In 1961, Bill proposed to childhood friend, Barbara Jean Weigand. The two later married in June 1962. The two shared a loving and devoted life together for 53 years until the passing of Barbara.

Bill had a long and accomplished career (nearly 50 years) as a Civil Engineer for the Federal Government, private engineering consulting firms, and for a rural electric association. In Federal service, he worked for the Bureau of Reclamation for 31 years and the Western Area Power Administration for 6 years. While employed by Morrison Knudsen and the Washington Group, Bill oversaw the construction of the Kali Gandaki dam and hydropower plant in Nepal, an opportunity of a lifetime. Bill capped off his engineering career working for Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association.

Bill was an engineer’s engineer, who loved to build and to solve problems. His work was his play. Some of his many accomplishments include:

Performing a structural analysis of the St. Louis Arch for the Department of the Interior
Designing the Grand Coulee Third Powerhouse
Designing the Morrow Point Powerhouse
Designing canals, siphons, and bridges associated with the Central Arizona Project
Designing the bridge and parking structure for the new Hoover Dam visitor's center
Designing multiple power substations, and maintenance facilities
Serving as the site manager for the construction of the Kali Gandaki dam and powerhouse in Nepal

Bill’s humble, patient, friendly, humorous, positive, and caring influence will be missed. He made this world a better place in so many ways.

In lieu of flowers please make donations to:

Colorado State University

Civil Engineering Opportunity Fund

https://advancing.colostate.edu/GIVE.

There will be a drop-down menu titled “University Fund”. Open menu and click search and enter Civil Engineering Opportunity Fund. On the second page there will be another drop down menu, “Include Tribute”, where you can enter William Cowan.

Or you can donate over the phone or by check by following this link: https://giving.colostate.edu/ways-to-give/

Make sure to communicate over the phone or write in the check memo, “in memory of William Cowan”.

Or

NSPE-CO Education Foundation

Bridge Building Fund

PO Box 261354

Lakewood, CO  80226

Make sure to write in the check memo, “in memory of William Cowan”

A Memorial Service honoring Bill's life will be held on Sunday, June 6, 2021 at 1:00PM at Horan & McConaty Family Chapel, 3101 South Wadsworth Boulevard, Lakewood, Colorado.

For those who are unable to attend in person, please join via livestream - https://event.forgetmenotceremonies.com/ceremony?c=edf86b62-8985-4081-b506-3421f7f24235

Please share your memories of Bill and condolences with his family by signing the tribute wall.