Catherine "Mickie" Mchale Cowan

Broussard – A Mass of the Resurrection for Catherine “Mickie” McHale Cowan, 87, will be held at 11:00AM on Thursday, June 20, 2019 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church of Broussard.  Interment will follow at Sacred Heart Mausoleum at a later date.

Visitation will be at David Funeral Home of Lafayette on Wednesday, June 19, 2019 from 6:00PM until 9:00PM with a recitation of the rosary at 7:00PM.

Mrs. Cowan passed away at her home on Saturday, June 15, 2019 surrounded by her loving family and friends.  Mickie was born in Buffalo New York at Millard Fillmore Hospital on June 24 ^th , 1931 to Edward John McHale and Catherine Marie Butler, along with her older brother James Edward McHale.  After later moving to Cincinnati, OH, she completed her bachelors degree from Our Lady of Cincinnati University and subsequently met her husband Abe Cowan while working at WLWT television station.  In 1965, the family relocated to Shreveport, LA where they happily raised their five children.  Upon her husband’s death in 2013, she moved to Broussard, LA where she resided until the time of her passing.

She was a dedicated member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Shreveport serving as a Eucharistic Minister, Lector, member of the Ladies Circle, and founding member of the Gourmet club. Additionally, she was chair of the local council of National Council of Christians and Jews and a founding member on the Board of Directors for The Oaks Retirement Community in Shreveport. After relocating to Broussard, she was active in her new church community at Sacred Heart Catholic Church by serving in the choir and as a member of the Ladies Altar Society.

A lifelong teacher and learner, she was a second-grade elementary teacher for several years at St. Joseph’s Catholic School and then became a 7 ^th grade teacher at St. John Berchmans Elementary School in Shreveport. She obtained her Masters Degree in Pastoral Care from Loyola University in New Orleans and became a certified chaplain in 1990. She frequently presented workshops and talks on a number of spiritual topics including the Enneagram and Dream Interpretations.

Mickie felt called to serve the sick and dying and did so as Chaplain and Director of Patient Relations at Christus Schumpert Medical Center in Shreveport, Louisiana until her initial retirement at age 65. She then became the founding chaplain at The Oaks of Louisiana Retirement Center in Shreveport and ministered for another 18 years before her second retirement at the age of 83.

Mickie and Abe traveled extensively throughout the world with family and friends but felt most at home on the water at Lake Bistineau. Mickie’s greatest joy was spending time with her five children and their spouses, 8 grandchildren, and 5 great-grandchildren.

Above all else, Mickie was devoted to her family, especially her husband of 59 years, Abe Cowan. She also deeply loved her children: Christy Cowan Fontenot and her husband, Brent, of Broussard, Louisiana; Julia Cowan Spear and her husband, Jefferson, of Slidell, Louisiana; Brian Cowan of New Orleans, Louisiana; James Cowan and wife Lisa Vallejo Cowan of San Antonio, Texas; and Cathy Cowan of Broussard, Louisiana.

Mickie was known as “Nana” to her 11 beloved grandchildren: Andrew Fontenot, Christopher Spear and wife Kate Dennis Spear, Phillip Spear and fiancé Fallon Estelle, Claire Fontenot, Jay Schexnider and fiancé Amber Touchet, Maddison Peters, Emma Cowan, Charlotte Cowan and great-grandchildren Brynden Gillis, Jayden Schexnider, Louisa Spear, Mason Schexnider, and Scott Spear. Mickie is survived by her sister-in-law Grace Cowan Pierce and her husband Don of Lafayette, Colorado and many nieces, nephews, cousins and beloved life-long friends.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 59 years, Abraham Eugene Cowan, her parents, Edward John McHale and the former Catherine Marie Butler, and one brother, James Edward McHale.

Mickie’s family wants to thank her physician, Dr. Kathryn Strother, her Hospice of Acadiana providers, and her loving caregivers Regina Rainwater, Myrna Romero, Thelma Alexander, Jordan Martinez, and Sara Caesar, who provided so much love and support to her and her family.

Pallbearers will be Andrew Fontenot, Christopher Spear, Phillip Spear, Jay Schexnider, Don Wilham, and Jefferson Spear.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the St. Cecilia School Memorial Fund, 302 W. Main St., Broussard, LA 70518, or Catholic Charities of Northwest Louisiana at https://ccnla.org/ , 331 E. 71 ^st St. Shreveport, LA 71106.

David Funeral Home of Lafayette, 316 Youngsville Hwy (337)837-9887, will be handling the arrangements.