Leland B Cowan, M.D.

Leland B Cowan, M.D.
1928-2022

Salt Lake City, UT – Dr. Leland B. Cowan always wanted to be a pilot. He loved anything that flew; big or small, fast or slow. On June 23rd just shy of his 94th birthday, he too finally found his way into the clouds.

He joined the United States Air Force in 1955, not as a pilot, but a Medical Officer. He served on active duty first on Johnston Island, a tiny atoll in the South Pacific, and then at Tripler Army Medical Center on Oahu.

It was a tropical adventure a long way not only from his home in Salt lake City, but the concrete canyons of New York City, where he met the love of his life, Constance June Waters, at Lenox Hill Hospital.

Constance, who passed away in 2020, was a registered nurse, Dr. Cowan was fresh out of Columbia Medical School. They married in Honolulu where they lived until returning to New York, where Dr. Cowan continued his training at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Institute.

In 1965, he went into practice with his father, Dr. Leland R. Cowan, a longtime surgical oncologist in Salt Lake City. For a decade they worked side by side. Their prodigious work schedules, meticulous follow-up care, and a devotion to their patients, made the Cowans two of the most respected physicians in the Intermountain West.

When his father died of cancer in 1976, Dr. Cowan helped found the Leland R. Cowan Cancer Clinic, where as a radiation therapist, he remained committed to treating cancer patients for the rest of his nearly 40-year career.

During that time, Connie and Lee, as their friends called them, raised two sons, Leland and Christopher. No two boys could have been luckier. As parents, they were unfailing. They were strict, but forgiving, funny but never frivolous, and old fashioned, in all he right ways.

But most of all, they were kind, warm, open people who never turned a blind eye to anyone in need.

Dr. Cowan is survived by his two sons, Molly his daughter-in-law, and his two grandsons; Kevin and Harrison.

A funeral service will be held at St. Mark's Cathedral on June 27th at 11 a.m. with The Very Reverend Tyler B. Doherty, Dean & Rector, The Reverend Holly Huff, and The Reverend Canon Bradly S. Wirth.

In lieu of flowers, it's requested a donation be made to the American Cancer Society,

The family would like to thank all the good souls at Bristol Hospice, whose caring and compassion know no bounds. To Dr. Cowan's caregivers; Marilou Hayes, Yolanda and Spencer Reategui, Britany and Amanda Bair, Joanna Garcia, and all the angels at Visiting Angels, there aren't enough words to convey the family's gratitude for caring for Dr. Cowan in his beloved childhood home, until the end.