John Bise Cowgill of Delmar, Maryland was born to John Benjamin and Beatrice Eleanora (Pennifield) Cowgill on October 31, 1942 in Damascus, Maryland. Being the son of an army veteran, he moved around a lot as a child, going to 16 different schools for his childhood education. He graduated from of El Paso High School in 1960. He received an Associate’s Degree from Prince George’s Community College in Largo, MD and a Bachelor’s Degree from Washington Bible College in Lanham, MD.
John accepted his Lord and Savior at the age of 11 years old and was challenged by his mother to read through the Bible in a year. He continued to do so every year up until his death. He was an active member of his current church, Fellowship Bible Church, as well as his former churches, Grace Memorial Church and later New Carrollton Bible Church. He also taught evening classes at the Washington Bible College for 15 years. He was best known for his love for the Lord and for studying the Bible, spreading God’s Word wherever he went.
John worked for WMATA, formerly DC Transit/WMA, for 42 years until he retired in 2003. After he retired, he was able to focus on his hobbies. He loved gardening, reading his many, many books, studying the Bible and spending time with his family. Those that knew John knew his incredible work ethic, his honesty and his fierce love for the Lord.
John Bise Cowgill went to be with our Lord and Savior on Friday, July 2, 2021. He was preceded in death by his parents, John Benjamin and Beatrice Eleanora Cowgill; his brothers, Melvin Botts, Ellis Botts, Henry Botts and Ralph Paris; his sisters—in-laws, Emmy Botts and Carol Paris; his brothers-in-law, Lee Sirk and William (Bill) Creegan; and his son-in-law, Barry Weller.
John was a wonderful husband, father, brother, uncle, and friend. John is survived by his beautiful wife of almost 58 years, Gloria Marie (Mapp) Cowgill, of Delmar, MD; his brothers, Perry Cowgill (Linda) of Vashon, WA and Parker Cowgill (June) of Altadena, CA; sisters, Marian (Paris) Sirk of Woodbine, MD and Marilee (Cowgill) Creegan of Alachua, FL; his children, Lorenzo Cowgill (Nida) of Manassas, VA, Yolanda Weller of Rockville, MD, Juanita Cowgill of Frederick, MD, Jacinta Cowgill of Monrovia, MD, John Cowgill of Fairfax, VA, Gloria Cowgill of Hudson Falls, NY, and Gabrielle Cowgill of Monrovia, MD; his grandchildren, Jonathan Howell, Joshua Cowgill, Rachael Cowgill, Alex (Vinny) Fincham, Marissa Fincham and Andrew (Andy) Cowgill, as well as a host of nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews and friends. John was dearly loved by his family and friends and will truly be missed.
A celebration of life for John will be held at 1 p.m. EST on Saturday, July 24, 2021, at Donaldson’s Funeral Home, 1411 Annapolis Road Rt 175 E, Odenton, MD 21113 https://www.donaldsonodenton.com/ 410.672.2200.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made to one or more of the following charities in John's honor:
Doctor’s without Borders, http://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org/medicalcare/donatenow
The Voice of Martyrs, https://persecution.com/donate/
The Daily Bread, http://secure.ourdailybread.org/planned-giving/#memory-giving
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