Jessica Cowles, Lansing artist and advocate, dies suddenly days after Lake Huron vacation
LANSING — Jessica Cowles came back from a short vacation to Lake Huron energized, the wind at her back. Her paintings were being sold at the Metro Melik 517 shop in downtown Lansing, she had spotted a beloved bald eagle and had seen the stars emerge as the night clouds cleared over the water.
"She was really happy," said Will Rideoutt, her life partner of nine years. "It was really rainy and cloudy, but we were on the porch facing the lake having a cigarette at night and she said, 'I think I'm seeing a star. It's clearing up.'"
Back home on the couch with Rideoutt and in the span of a few minutes, Cowles's life ended on Aug. 25. Shortly after texting her mom about how great the trip was, she went into cardiac arrest and died two days before her 39th birthday.
Cowles was a well-known Lansing artist, primarily through her wedding and portrait photography. Lately, she had also been painting, and she was known for kindness and empathy as an advocate and member of a chronic pain/illness community wanting to make the world a better place.
"She was the most talented person I ever met," Rideoutt said.
Cowles helped organize regular jazz Tuesdays at Stober's Bar, where she tended bar before leaving hospitality work for photography.
"She was the type of person who had to be doing something creative," said Michael Smalley, one of her longtime friends.
"She was getting back to a sense of normalcy," he said, referring to some of her health struggles in the past year.
Smalley said he had been texting Cowles less than a half hour before her death and she talked about how happy she was in the moment.
It is a comfort, amid the pain of the loss, to know that she died in a time of peace and happiness instead of anxiety or panic, Smalley said.
She was creative in everything she did, from her photography career to her cooking and interior design work, her mother Karen Cowles said.
"She was so much more. She had the best sense of humor. It was dry and unique and she could make everyone laugh," Cowles said.
Every year, Jessica Cowles wrapped gifts in elaborate designs.
"It was a joy for her to do that," her mother said.
Jessica Cowles was the one who organized memorials when her friends died. Now, friends and family are planning two in her honor: From 4 to 8 p.m. Sept. 17 at Moriarty's Pub, 802 E. Michigan Ave., and from 2 to 5 p.m. Sept. 24 at the Unity Spiritual Center of Lansing, 2395 Washington Road.
Her paintings at Metro Melik 517 have sold out, but others may soon be available and friends are working to get prints made available, her parents said.
Fred Cowles said his daughter always had a strong sense of empathy. She was very accepting of others and led with love and a strong sense of equality, he said.
She advocated for the LGBTQ+ community and for reproductive rights, and she urged everyone to vote, her parents said.
The pains and concerns of the chronic illness community were important to Cowles, who faced many of the same struggles. She had autoimmune issues that meant COVID-19 quarantine never fully ended for her, Rideoutt said.
During the worst of the pandemic, county health officials were able to get N-95 masks for Cowles so she could see Rideoutt, a musician, perform at gigs.
"That helped her feel comfortable and feel free to start living her life again," he said.
She devoted time to helping others with chronic issues, including through a Facebook group that she helped to lead.
"When she was successful, it made her happy," Rideoutt said. "But there's an endless mountain to climb and she was in it for the long haul.
"She would ask people to accept the situation they're in: A lot of doors will be closed but other doors will be open to you and there are people who care and are open to you."
Hearing from all the people that their daughter has touched over the years has been heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time, her parents said.
"She had the advocacy spark in her heart," Karen Cowles said. "I so wish that she could see what people are saying about her right now, the outpouring of love and the person after person we're hearing from. So many that she helped. She knew that she was lifting people up and people just adored her for good reason."
Contact Mike Ellis at mellis@lsj.com or 517-267-0415
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Jessica Cowles, Lansing artist and advocate, dies at 38
