Taxidermy.Net Forum - The Bird Taxidermy World Loses David Cowley

Today, I received these two letters from Dave's best taxidermy buddies; Jim Pitts of Shawnee, OK and Mickey Bowman of Lawton. They wanted to share them with everyone.

TRUE FRIENDS ARE FOREVER

David M. Cowley, Master Bird Taxidermist, innovator, teacher, artist and giver of not always good news, but giver of honesty, because that’s what he believed you and I deserved.
Dave was a winner, and he worked hard to be so. He won more awards than most ever know about. But the big one was one we all would like to win- the Carl E. Akeley medallion at the World championship competition. This award is only given to the very best in the Master’s division. Dave’s pheasant was the best. I was there when he received the award and was very proud for him. Dave carried the medallion with him almost everywhere he went.
I meet him at the first Oklahoma convention in Tulsa in 1984. This show most likely would never have happened, if not for the amazing efforts of Judy Conway of Duncan, OK. I had never been to a taxidermy show before. A few days before the show, I was visiting on the phone with Judy when she mentioned a few names of people she expected to attend. One of those names was David Cowley.
The name meant nothing to me at that time. Wow, was that about to change! Dave won Best of Show, People’s Choice and a lot more. He and I hit it off right away and became fast friends. That was 24 years ago.
In ’84, I had been doing taxidermy work for customers for about seven years. I believed my work was OK, but nothing special. Everyone seemed to like it, but I know it needed help. I had no idea how much help I was about to get!
After that convention, Dave and I were together almost every week. I was either at his house in Ponca City or he was at mine in Shawnee. Sometimes we would work and study around the clock for up to three days at a time without sleep. I sure wish I was young enough today to do that again! Whoever said that two minds are better than one, sure knew what they were saying. Dave and I often disagreed, but hashing out those disagreements was when we learned the most. Lots of times after being awake for three days, I couldn’t sleep with all that new knowledge running through my head. By the way, all of this studying was done drug-free. Dave wouldn’t even take aspirin, but we did drink a lot of coffee. In later years, we did our share of partying.
In those first few years, Dave and I would drive to shows in one of our old beat-up trucks, and sleep wherever we could. THANKS to all of those who helped us during that time. I remember you well……. We would go to every seminar, even if we weren’t interested in the subject. We always learned something. Sometimes I look back on those days, and I’m still shocked at what we learned together. It was knowledge that we most likely would never have learned on our own.
Dave and I did our first plucked carcass bird cast at my shop in ’86. That was a turning point for both of us. Dave went on to acquire the only US patent on a bird body ever. As far as I know, it is still the only one today.
A lot of people have influenced me over the years, but none more than Dave. He is the one that taught me that I could be a pioneer in my own learning. He said that you do not have to wait for someone else to write the book. He wasn’t just talking taxidermy, he was talking life. No one had ever told anything like that and I will not forget it. I think I can call that an epiphany.
In 1987 Dave and I went to Lubbock, TX to hunt birds with Danny and Kim Owens, owners of Creative Critters Taxidermy. Because there were so many birds in that area, Dave moved there in ’88. He bought a house about a block away from Danny and Kim.
1984 through 1988-Wow, those were the years! Lots of good hunting, learning, traveling, and meeting lots of friends, what more could one want!
Memories are what form our future, but the future would start to change real fast. In 1990, Dave experienced an episode of mental psychosis and had to be hospitalized. Over the next few years, he was hospitalized about five times to my knowledge. A lot of friends tried to help. Sometimes he would accept help and sometimes not. Many people who encountered him at taxidermy shows over the last few years, sometimes wondered,
“Who is heck is this cat, and why is he acting that way?”
When we don’t understand, we are sometimes too quick to judge and criticize. Some have said it must be drugs. I’m here to tell you that none of Dave’s problems were caused by drug use. As I said earlier, he wouldn’t even take aspirin.
Dave was a great innovator in our industry, and we all have and will benefit from it. I would like to thank the publishers of our trade magazines for giving him the respect he really deserved and for publishing his articles, even when his writing was some what questionable.
A lot of people helped Dave after his illness set in, but none more than Danny and Kim Owens. In studying about his type of mental illness, I have learned that the ones that help the most are the ones that often get hurt the most. Those efforts to lend help are not often accepted with anything but negative words and actions from the one they are trying to help. I wish you all knew the good that Danny and Kim did for Dave during those years.
Thank you, Danny and Kim. I know it wasn’t easy. I was in on it myself.
During the 90’s, Dave and I hunted together a lot. He would at times tell me how he wanted his life to end. I didn’t want to hear this, but he would mention it. I did my best to talk him out of it, and could only hope and pray that it would help him in some way.
About four years ago, Dave married for the first time. He wed Gloria, who lived in the Altus area. He moved there from Lubbock and settled in. Taxidermy was his life, and he did wholesale bird work out of their home.
Dave was more in love with Gloria than anyone ever, and she was very much in love with him. About a year ago, Gloria had to leave the home; it just got too tough emotionally for her to deal with Dave’s illness.
Mickey Bowman, Lawton OK, was a very good friend to Dave and helped him a lot. The day before Dave took his own life; Mickey was at his home and had the privilege of visiting with him for a few hours. He had no way of knowing this would be the last time anyone would see Dave alive. A couple of days later, Mickey received a letter from Dave. In the letter, Dave tried to explain, the best he could, how the pressures of his life were just too much. The letter blamed no one and had no bitterness at all, only peaceful words.
I will not go into any details of how the end happened, except to say it was very well planned and carried out in such an artistic way, that only Dave could do. Dave was the most artistic and intelligent man that I personally have ever known. His life and death is reminiscent of the 18th century artist, Vincent Van Gogh.
There are a lot of great artistic people in our industry today because of innovative people like Dave, who believe in themselves enough to make things better without waiting for some else to write the book.
We must all learn from this and carry on.

We love and miss you, Dave. True friends are forever.

Jim Pitts

P. S. – Sometimes it takes something like this to make us realize how much we need our friends. And I really do miss and appreciate all of you and hope to see you soon.

Dave and I traveled to a lot of shows together during the 90’s and enjoyed being together, good and bad. We exchanged a lot of knowledge with each other. I know he has done a few crazy things at some of these shows but he did not mean any harm to anybody. He helped me a lot in my career as a taxidermist. I credit him for a lot of the awards I have won thru the years. I believe I have the largest collection of bird work that he did and every one is the best I’ve ever seen. I enjoy looking at them more and more every day since he has left us all. I wish he was still here because he still had a lot more knowledge of birds and artwork to share. There are still articles he had written and had not published yet. I enjoyed watching him mount a lot of birds and I still haven’t figured out how he came up with all those creative ideas. I wish the younger taxidermists of today could have seen what I saw him do thru the years. It was amazing. I sure wish you were still here, Dave. You have meant a lot to me and I will miss you more than words can say. I know you are with the Almighty and I’m sure he has given you the wings of a bird to enjoy heaven with. Take care good friend and hope to see you again, when the time comes.

Mickey Bowman