[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 18 (Monday, February 1, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E80]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





     HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF DR. CHARLES EUGENE COWLES, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BRIAN BABIN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, February 1, 2021

  Mr. BABIN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy 
of my dear friend Dr. Charles Eugene Cowles, Jr. of Houston, Texas. Dr. 
Cowles went to be with the Lord on December 26, 2020 following a motor 
vehicle accident.
  Charles was born on April 19, 1968, to Charles Eugene Cowles, Sr. and 
Carol Janice Wood Cowles in Houston, Texas, at Hermann Hospital. He 
grew up in the Houston area with varied interests and developed 
lifelong friendships in the process. Charles suffered a personal 
tragedy as a young adult when his father died unexpectedly.
  In 1986, Charles completed an associate's degree and became a 
paramedic and firefighter with the Beaumont Fire Department. He pursued 
degrees in sports medicine and nursing and completed studies to become 
a registered nurse (RN) in 1998 and also worked in area trauma centers 
in the ER as a nurse. He continued as a paramedic supervisor until 
1995, when he began teaching EMS courses at San Jacinto College. 
Charles also had the opportunity to assist in the creation of curricula 
for medical training of NASA astronauts serving aboard the 
International Space Station and personally instructed several classes 
of Astronauts and Cosmonauts in emergency medical response at the 
Johnson Space Center in Houston from 1995 to 2006. Charles obtained his 
bachelor's degree in Sports Medicine from the University of Houston in 
1998. He later earned a master's degree in business administration from 
the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2013.
  Charles took the next step in his professional career when he began 
medical school at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center--
Houston. He graduated in 2004 and accepted an anesthesiology residency 
at UT Houston, training in the same hospital where he was born. Upon 
completing his residency, he joined the faculty in the Anesthesia 
division at the world-renowned MD Anderson Cancer Center, working as a 
neuro-anesthesiologist, and rose to the rank of Professor before his 
untimely death.
  Dr. Cowles used the knowledge and wisdom he gained as a first 
responder throughout his medical and professional career. He served on 
multiple institutional safety committees and was ultimately named the 
chief safety officer for the Anesthesiology Division in 2016. Charles 
was an international expert in operating room fire safety and traveled 
worldwide teaching from his unique experience as both a firefighter and 
anesthesiologist. He served on multiple committees for local, state, 
and national medical societies. Not wanting to limit his contributions 
solely to anesthesia, Dr. Cowles also served as the Tactical Medical 
Director of the Pasadena Police Department and as the Local Health 
Authority for the City of Pasadena, Texas. Additionally, Dr. Cowles 
advised my staff, and I, on health care policy matters.
  Inside and outside of work, his family, and faith were essential to 
Charles. Dr. Cowles was highly involved at First Baptist Church of 
Pasadena, where he served as a deacon and director of the church's 
medical committee. Charles was also a Board Member of First Baptist 
Christian Academy where his three sons attended elementary and middle 
school. He also served on the board of Youth Reach Houston, a home for 
troubled boys.
  Dr. Cowles was a man of many personal and professional achievements, 
but more than all he was a family man. He and his loving wife Jennifer 
Kendrick Cowles met when she attended one of Charles' paramedic courses 
in 1995. Charles and Jennifer married on May 19, 2000 and celebrated 
twenty years of marriage earlier in 2020. Together they have three sons 
Christopher, Caleb and Jacob.
  Dr. Charles Eugene Cowles, Jr. lived a full life focused on being a 
husband, father, man of faith, physician, first responder, teacher, 
medical leader, a connoisseur of barbeque, and grand storyteller. For 
all these things, he will be missed by many--myself included. I will 
continue to keep his family, medical family, and his friends in my 
prayers.

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