Joan I. (Haas) Cowan

Joan Isadora (Haas) Cowan passed away at her daughter’s house in Hellam, Pennsylvania on April 21, 2026. She was 99 years old.

She was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and lived most of her life in the Somerset section of Franklin Township, New Jersey.

She graduated from New York University with a degree in English, where she met our dad. A mutual friend said to him, “Eddie, I have a girl for you. She’s too short for me!” The rest, as they say, is history.

They married in 1950 and settled in Flatbush, Brooklyn. In 1962 they moved to Somerset to raise their family.

She started volunteering at the Franklin Township Public Library when it was in the storefront in the A&P Shopping Center on Hamilton Street. She went with the library to the corner of Hamilton and Franklin Boulevard, and eventually to its present location on DeMott Lane, retiring in 1991.

It was a fitting career for her as she was a ferocious reader and passed her love of books on to her children and grandchildren. As kids, we looked forward with excitement to the books she’d bring home from work.

She was pre-deceased by her husband Edward Cowan, in 2013, after 63 years of marriage.

She is survived by her son Gordon Cowan, of Princeton New Jersey; daughter and son-in-law Helen and Christopher Quinn of Hellam Pennsylvania; granddaughter Heather Mauro of Thomasville Pennsylvania; grandsons Nicholas Mauro and his wife Kimberly of Scottsville Virginia, and Jack Quinn of Arlington Virginia. She is also survived by four great-grandchildren: Sophia Dietz, Liam Dietz, Lilith Weaver, and Juliana Mauro.

Dad always said, “I married the best legs in Brooklyn!” We’re happy to think he’s strolling around Heaven with her now – and those legs - by his side, while they watch over us.

Joan has donated her remains to medical science. There will be no service. It would make her happy if you supported your local library.

Heffner Funeral Chapel & Crematory, Inc., 1551 Kenneth Rd., York, is honored to serve the family.