In a very real way, Charles J. Cowan Jr. was his brother’s keeper. As a young man who grew up on the Great South Bay, he often spent time on the water.

One day he and his younger brother George were surfing. It was nearly dusk and the two were the only ones on the water. Suddenly a runaway ten-foot surfboard came out of nowhere and struck George, knocking him cold.

“If it weren’t for the quick and brave action of my brother, I surely would not be here today to honor him,” said George, who gave a eulogy at his brother’s funeral Saturday, January 21, 2006.

Charles J. Cowan Jr., a resident of Gilgo Beach and New York City, died January 17, 2006 after an 18-month fight against liver cancer. He was 56 years-old, and the son of Charles J. Cowan Sr., a former Lindenhurst Village Mayor.

“I grew up into an awareness that my brother had a gift,” said George. “He was charming and funny and he knew how to delight and warm the hearts of all.”

“He was the type of a person everyone would go to if they needed help, because he was always there for others,” said Adrienne Smith, his longtime friend and companion. “He would not hesitate to stop whatever he was doing to help someone.”

Mr. Cowan was a decorated veteran, having served in the United States Marines during Vietnam. He worked for IBM for 22 years. Over the past year he also traveled extensively and spent a lot of time at the beach, said Adrienne.

In addition to Adrienne, his cherished love, his father and his brother George of Kingston, New York, Mr. Cowan is survived by his brother Paul and his wife Ellen of Brightwaters; his sisters Noreen Warren and her husband Bob of Lindenhurst, Diane Salter and her husband Tom of Florida, and Michele Weber and her husband Dennis of Colorado as well as by George’s wife Jill. He was predeceased by his mother Phyllis.

Mr. Cowan reposed at the Claude R. Boyd-Spencer Funeral Home, 448 West Main St., Babylon, New York. A funeral mass was said at St. Joseph’s R.C. Church on Saturday, January 21, followed by private cremation services.