JOHN E. COWELL, 1LT, USAF

John Cowell '55

Date of birth: January 30, 1933

Date of death: December 17, 1957

Age: 24

Lucky Bag

From the 1955 Lucky Bag:

JOHN EVERETT COWELL

Cummington, Massachusetts

Thorpe was among the most versatile athletes on the field. Hailing from little Mass, John came to the Academy after learning how to use the slide rule at Worcester Polytechnic. He often baffled various academic departments with his methods but always seemed to come up with the right answer. Standing close to the top in scholastics did not alter Jack's desire for adventure, and he has been known to see the night lights of Baltimore. Second Class cruise saw Jack perform at the Lord Nelson in Halifax — he was fabulous! Also among Jack's attributes was his ability at drilling. This was perfected after many Wednesday afternoon practice sessions. Jack used his ability to use a shovel by contributing various articles to the Log.

JOHN EVERETT COWELL

Cummington, Massachusetts

Thorpe was among the most versatile athletes on the field. Hailing from little Mass, John came to the Academy after learning how to use the slide rule at Worcester Polytechnic. He often baffled various academic departments with his methods but always seemed to come up with the right answer. Standing close to the top in scholastics did not alter Jack's desire for adventure, and he has been known to see the night lights of Baltimore. Second Class cruise saw Jack perform at the Lord Nelson in Halifax — he was fabulous! Also among Jack's attributes was his ability at drilling. This was perfected after many Wednesday afternoon practice sessions. Jack used his ability to use a shovel by contributing various articles to the Log.

Loss

John was lost in an aircraft accident on December 17, 1957. He was a member of the 353rd Fighter-Day Squadron, based at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Other Information

From researcher Kathy Franz:

He graduated from Northampton High School in 1950 and attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute where he was a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon and played football. He was appointed to the Naval Academy by Congressman John W. Heselton (R-Mass.) out of a group of 33 taking the civil service examination.
His funeral service was held in the Village Congregation Church. Honor guard and active bearers were from the Westover Air Force Base. Burial was in the West Cummington Cemetery.
He is buried in South Carolina, and was survived by his wife, Margaret, two year old daughter, Debora, and eight-month-old son, Bryan. His parents were Stanley and the late Vernice Cowell; four brothers were Robert, Thomas, Raymond and Lorin; two sisters, Judy and Lynn; and maternal grandmother Mrs. Janet Hodkins.

Class of 1955

John is one of 34 members of the Class of 1955 on Virtual Memorial Hall.

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