Veda Joy Cowgill

Veda Joy Cowgill, 82, of Lebanon died at home on Feb. 24 of natural causes.
Veda was born in Albany to Ralph William Schulze and Edna Bell (Jackson) Schulze, the second of three children.
She attended Albany schools, graduating from Albany Union High in 1950. On Nov. 3, 1951, she married Donald Griffith Cowgill. Together they raised three sons: Attorney Michael Griffith Cowgill of Albany, Lt. Col. Ret. Air Force Craig Alan Cowgill of Moreno Valley, California, and Dr. Steven Donald Cowgill of Salem. Veda's younger brother, Larry Ralph Schulze, Eugene, who was close in age to their sons, was considered another son by Don and Veda.
Veda's family was her pride and joy. As a wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, she nurtured everyone. Veda excelled as a homemaker. She generously provided family, friends and neighbors with various gifts from her vegetable and flower gardens and her busy kitchen. She was well known for her canning, food processing and baking skills. Baking cinnamon rolls with her grandchildren every Christmas and hosting her family on Christmas Eve were rich family traditions.
Veda loved crafts, knitting and sewing. "Made by Veda" was the tag on countless items of clothing that she created over many decades. Christmas socks hand knitted by Veda for each of her grandchildren hang with pride every December.
Veda grew up in a family that loved the Oregon outdoor life. Living on the farm since 1951 with Don, she was the central planner who eagerly organized and orchestrated a variety of outdoor activities. The family enjoyed boating, fishing, hunting, clamming, crabbing and camping all over Oregon. Trips to Diamond Lake and East Lake each spring to open the trout season, followed by salmon trips out of Yaquina Bay in the summer, were fond memories. Once the crops were harvested and the fields planted in the fall, the family was off to eastern Oregon for camping and hunting trips and more adventures.
During the early years of their marriage, the family farmed, growing a variety of grass seed and vegetable crops. Veda drove trucks, tractors, windrowers and combines, ran the spraying team, kept the books and worked with Don to keep the farm moving forward.
Veda's Christian faith was central to her life. She lived out her Christian life in action, each and every day. Her church and church circle friends were an inspiration to her, and she was an inspiration to everyone she encountered.
Veda was preceded in death by her husband, Don, just before their 62nd wedding anniversary in 2013; and recently by her older sister, Vera Lea Stalnaker in 2014.
She is survived by her brother, Larry Schulze and wife Andrea Coffman; sons Michael and wife Cheryl, Craig and wife Chris, and Steven and wife Deborah; brother-in-law Thomas and sister-in-law Mary Cowgill; grandchildren Caila and husband Brian Murphy, Kyle, Scott and wife Ashley, Katharine, Brett and wife Brittney, Stacia and Lisa Cowgill; and great-grandchildren Hudson, Abigail and Stryder Murphy, and Karis Cowgill. She also had many beloved nieces and nephews.
A celebration of life will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 7, at the Albany First Assembly of God Church, followed by a reception.
The family wishes to thank all of Veda's Tennessee Road neighbors and friends who were always so kind, generous and loving, willing to drop by and visit, share a cup of coffee and the latest news, and enjoy God's bounty as manifested on Tennessee Road.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts can be made to Southside Church of Christ in Lebanon or the Lebanon Food Bank in care of AAsum-Dufour Funeral Home.
AAsum-Dufour Funeral Home is handling arrangements (www.aasum-dufour.com).