Memorial Service Details
-
It was the wish of Dr. Mae Pendleton-Cowan that, in lieu of flowers, any memorial tributes be made in the form of charitable donations to : CAAEYC – California Association for the Education of Young Children
Mae Pendleton Cowan was born in Peachburg, Alabama on March 21, 1931, and transitioned peacefully on August 13, 2021 at the age 90.
Mae’s was a sharecropping family who picked cotton and harvested the fields. It was customary for older children to care for the younger ones. Mae was appointed that job. At the age of 4, she would arrange the infants and toddlers in a semi-circle and mimic teaching. Her mother and others found this very curious as no one had received any education. Young Mae thirsted for education. She attended elementary school in a one room schoolhouse and high school in Tuskegee while working as a mother’s helper with a family there. She earned her BS from Tuskegee Institute where she also became a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.
After graduating Tuskegee, Mae married William Cowan, a young military man from Tuskegee, AL. William was soon deployed to Germany. While there, Mae, employed by the army, taught the black army recruits to read and write. She implemented an experimental program that got the men to 4th grade literacy in six weeks!
In 1958 the couple with, their two children, William Gregory, and Evelyn Mae Rena, moved to Pasadena, CA. Mae continued her teaching journey spending over 20 years in the Los Angele Unified School District, primarily in South Central and East Los Angeles. She taught all grades, worked special education, and as a curriculum coordinator, an enrichment teacher and was involved with Head Start. She’d say… “I did it all!”
In 1981 she left the public school system and started a consulting firm specializing in social motivation and communication skills. Clients included Los Angeles Police Department and the Pasadena Ceta Program. Although the business was a success, Mae’s passion was education, as such, she obtained a teaching position at California State University Northridge. In 1984 Dr. Cowan was employed by Pacific Oaks College. Here she became the first African American Director and Advisor of the Credential Program and initialized programs such as the CBEST workshop and the C.A.P. program.
Dr. Mae was a founding member of the Pasadena Chapter of the AKA Sorority. She held membership, supported, counseled, and set on the boards of NYC Program, the Pasadena Chapters of the NAACP and SCLC, Pasadena Unified School District PTA, and other numerous educational and youth organizations. Dr. Mae’s list of credentials is extensive. From Tuskegee Institute Mae received her B.S. degree in Social Studies. She acquired two M.S. degrees from Mount St. Mary’s College, one in Administration and Supervision, the other in Urban Education and Minority Group Studies. Mae earned her Ph.D. from the University of Southern California in Education Psychology, Early Childhood Education and Drama. She had multiple credentials/certificates – the California Community College Supervisor and Instructor Life Credentials, a Standard Teaching Credential, a General Elementary Life Diploma, the Certificate of Specialist Teacher in Reading. Mae was also an Early Childhood Education Specialist.
Fondly known as Ma Mae and Nana, Dr. Mae was a strong woman of faith who Loved the Lord. Always positive, sharing a smile with a delightful laugh. She had a passion for butterflies and fancied the color purple. Mae was an educator, activist, a philanthropist, friend, wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. She is survived by her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and a host of family and friends.
She educated, mentored, inspired, encouraged, and loved us all. She was MAGNIFENT!
