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Marian Frances Anderson was born 15 April 1915 in Boston, MA. She was the second of five children born to Benjamin Franklin “Frank” Anderson, Sr. , a molder in the Navy yard, and Anna Elizabeth “Annie” Bibby. Marian received her Bachelor’s of Science degree from Howard University, where she was a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. After graduation, she taught home economics in the Indianapolis schools for some years before she married Jason Mouldin Cowan 25 October 1945 in Newton County, MO. That same year, she received her Master’s of Science in Home Economics Education from Iowa State College. Cowan also received a Master’s Degree from Indiana University (“Marian Cowan, Retired Teacher,” 1996). In the mid-1950s, the Cowan family relocated to Texas, where Marian, continuing in education, went on to be a leader in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) regionally and locally in Texas, and later nationally (“Marian Cowan: Retired Educator,” 1996).

Later, Ms. Cowan taught for several decades in the Los Angeles County schools and, in retirement, became a researcher in the Geriatrics Department of the University of California, during which time her short films on geriatrics were published on Public Television and used in college geriatrics classes. Cowan ended her career where she had begun it, teaching in the Indianapolis Public Schools. She died 6 February 1996 in Indianapolis, IN, of complications of ovarian cancer. She is buried in Ingelwood Park Cemetery, Los Angeles, CA (“Marian Cowan, Retired Teacher,” 1996).

Sources

Photo credit: Fouke Hawkins High School. (1961). Quettes join the fun at Weldon High School (detail of Marian Cowan). [Photograph]. Fouke Hawkins High School Yearbook, 1961. p. 146. Retrieved from https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1265/images/1265_b698550-0014

Marian Cowan: Retired educator & church leader. (1996, March-April). The Oldtimers’ Grapevine 6(2). Disciples of Christ Historical Society, p. 10. https://digitalcommons.discipleshistory.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=oldtimersgrapevine 

Marian Cowan, retired teacher and Christian Church official. (1996, 9 Feb) The Indianapolis Star, 32.Obituary for Mr. Jason Gregory Cowan. (2016). Northwest Funeral Chapel,  https://www.northwestfuneralchapel.com/obituaries/Jason-Cowan/#!/Obituary

Victoria Allen Banks was born on 23 December 1917 in Huntsville, Texas, to Memphis Allen and Carrie Jame Allen. Victoria received her bachelor’s of science degree from Prairie View Normal and Industrial College (now Prairie View A & M University) before enrolling at Iowa State College, where she lived during the the winter of 1945 at 218 Lincoln Way. At Iowa State, she received a Master’s of Science degree in Home Economics Education in 1946; her thesis was entitled Evaluation of Guidance Procedures in Preschool Departments of Protestant Sunday Schools.

Throughout her life Victoria lived in Blue Bell, PA; Willis, TX; and Detroit, MI. Banks was married to Rev. Dr. A.A. Banks, Jr., and she and her husband worked alongside civil rights colleagues Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mrs. Rosa Parks. Their daughter, Dr. Teta V. Banks, went on to become the Consul of the Republic of Liberia at Philadelphia (Hon. Dr. Teta V. Banks, 2019).

Iowa State College Dissertation Title: Evaluation of guidance procedures in preschool departments of protestant Sunday schools, 1946

Iowa State University Catalog Record: https://quicksearch.lib.iastate.edu/permalink/01IASU_INST/174tg9m/alma990006095770102756 

Sources

Hon. Teta V. Banks, Ed.D. (2019). Top30Women. https://top30women.com/hon-teta-v-banks-ed-d/