Elmer Leroy Cowan, 95, of Anderson Oaks Assisted Living, Conway, S.C., formerly of Middlesex Township, Valencia, passed away June 1 at the Conway Medical Center in South Carolina.

Born on March 27, 1919, in Union Township, Jefferson County, Elmer was one of 12 children born to A. Leason Cowan and Bertha Elvira (Stahlman) Cowan.

He was the beloved husband of M. Pauline (Hughes) Cowan for 64 years, and she preceded him in death, as did Baby Lynn in 1948.

He is survived by his three children, Twila M. Cowan of Panama City Beach, Fla., Arlene W. Pate of Murrells Inlet, S.C., and Arden R. Cowan of Stevensville, Mont.; his six grandchildren; his 14 great-grandchildren; his four stepgrandchildren, and his sister, Nellie Beer of DuBois, Pa.

After high school graduation in 1936, Elmer went to Texas for work. He married Pauline in 1940, and served as a U.S. Navy carpenters mate 2nd Class, building the Alcan Highway in Alaska. As superintendent of construction, he built bridges on the Ohio and Pennsylvania Turnpikes and Interstate 79 in Pennsylvania.

His church affiliation was with the Mars Missionary Alliance where he taught Sunday School, and in retirement he helped blueprint and build the Mars Missionary Alliance Church and parsonage.

Elmer was a lifelong member of the Grange, where he met his wife, Pauline. He was an avid hunter and an accomplished beekeeper and organic gardener. He became a volunteer fire police officer for Middlesex Township at the age of 80.

Cowan — In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Elmer Leroy Cowan, who passed away Sunday, June 1, 2014, to the Alzheimer's Association, 2090 Executive Hall Road, Suite 130, Charleston, SC 29407.Arrangements were entrusted to the Goldfinch Funeral Home, South Carolina.Sign an online guest book at www.goldfinchfuneralhome.com/obituaries.