Dec. 4, 1949 – May 12, 2024
Arden Ray Cowan was a warrior. He was born in DuBois, Pennsylvania on Dec. 4, 1949 to Elmer and Pauline Cowan. Elmer was a supervisor on many big bridge construction projects in Pennsylvania and other locations in the eastern U.S., requiring the family to move several times in his early youth. These moves and changes of schools exposed a young person afflicted with polio early in life – resulting in a handicapped left arm – vulnerable to the schoolyard bullies who thought they could exploit his vulnerabilities. These kids found out that bullying anyone within sight or sound of Arden was asking to be taught a lesson in manners.
Describing Arden as “gifted and talented” is an understatement at best. Attending Mars High School in south Butler County, Pennsylvania, Arden’s gifts, talents and skills permitted him school absences so he could work with experts who were documenting various natural history elements in western Pennsylvania and beyond. His father helped nurture Arden’s interest in the natural world and took him fishing, hunting and trapping in the region’s fields, forests and waterways.
Arden’s high school years were formative in many other ways. He really liked the fast motorcycles and hot cars of the 1960s. As a working-class kid on working-class wages, he could not afford even a used vehicle so he bought wrecked ones and, with one good arm, took them apart and put them back together in working order. He created beautiful sports cars. He later owned several fast street bikes of that era and kept us all amazed at how a person with just one good arm could operate a two-handed operational system balanced on two wheels. Every good-looking gal in local schools either did date or wanted to date this guy.
The Butler Hunting and Fishing Club sponsored Explorer Post 100, dedicated to fostering interest in conservation careers. This is how the group of young men known to each other as “the gang” forged the bonds of friendships through experiences in wildlife education and conservation that remained important and strong throughout their lifetimes.
Arden attended Butler Community College and worked as a welder on Pullman Company’s standard rail cars, then worked in a venture to develop new lightweight materials that would function in extreme high heat environments, such as blast furnaces, molten metals, ladles, pots, mold liners and other applications. Arden helped develop, market and install these new materials in various industrial applications all over the country.
Arden always knew what his close friends needed and would make it happen. When longtime friend Dave Erny was returning from his Army tour in Viet Nam, wounded and war weary, Arden decided to help restore Dave’s health and spirit by embarking on a 10,000-mile transcontinental trip on their new Honda motorcycles, traveling through Canada and around the United States. On that epic ride, he and Dave explored Montana and vowed to return.
After deciding college was not for him, Arden headed to Montana with Joyce Fehl, the gal he had just married, driving his new pickup truck with the airplane he had just bought, disassembled, and loaded onto a flatbed trailer he built from scratch. They settled in the Bitterroot Valley, near Darby, bought a house, and had two children, Lacy and Shawn. Arden and Joyce were later divorced.
Arden learned the electrician trade rapidly and in 1974 became the youngest licensed Master Electrician in the USA. This credential more than qualified him to teach vocational electrical skills to residential students at the Trapper Creek Job Corps, on the West Fork Bitterroot near Darby. After several years of teaching, he decided to move to Alaska with close friends from the gang from Post 100.
Following several years of searching for land together, in early 1977 Arden and friends bought adjoining acreage in the Swan Valley, near Buck Creek, with the intent of living at least some part of their lives there.
Arden then went to work for Tanner Electric Co-op, based in Wasilla, Alaska. He supervised their crews on commercial bush jobs in places like the North Slope, Kodiak, and remote native villages, working on schools, medical facilities, other military and governmental projects, and similar projects. He did this well into the late 1980s.
Throughout all this time Arden used every opportunity to explore the wilds of Alaska and Montana. He lived for adventure, especially hunting trips to remote country to live in the high mountains with good friends, along with the grizzlies, goats, sheep, wolverines and other creatures of the wild.
With some of his earnings from Alaska, Arden bought acreage along the Bitterroot River near Bell Crossing, where he remodeled the old residence there and built two other homes on the large acreage. Kathy Cuchois, his wife, was hit by a falling tree in a tragic accident on the property. Her severe head injuries contributed to the end of that relationship and they were later divorced.
The Bitterroot River is arguably one of the most dangerous in Montana, with hazards such as strainers, log jams, undercut banks, dangerous undercurrents and icy cold water. These characteristics make rescues more dangerous and complicated than on most rivers in Montana, yet over the years Arden rescued several people. His rescue of a police officer led to the honor of being the only civilian to be inducted into the Law Enforcement Hall of Fame. Arden was honored with the Governor’s Award for Heroism for another of his rescues.
Arden met Kathleen Mauer, a nurse practitioner, and they started their lives together up Bass Creek, near Stevensville, where Arden and Kathleen transformed her tiny cabin into a wonderful large home. Together, they enjoyed this quiet place near the sound of the creek, surrounded by an amazing forest and good neighbors. He was a positive influence on Kathleen’s children, Hannah Knick of Great Falls, MT and especially Lucas Mauer, who learned so very much from Arden.
While working in Alaska on Kodiak Island, Arden met Ken Paullin, who would share many hunting adventures with Arden. Later in life they explored the mountains and ecosystems of the desert southwest. Chris Hosic, another friend from the Bitterroot, shared many experiences with Arden and many adventures together on hunting trips all over western and southwestern Montana.
Arden enjoyed his time assisting Mike Stevenson with electrical installation with his various building projects in Missoula and elsewhere. The two enjoyed spending time together in many pursuits. In the Y2K winter of 1999-2000, Mike and Arden both spent time in the Great Bear Wilderness assisting Tom Parker on lynx research for the Rocky Mountain Research Station. Arden also guided big game hunters from 1980 to 2010 for Buck Creek Guide Service in the Swan Valley, and in the 1990s for East Fork Outfitters in the Bitterroot.
Ellen Wirth, of Lost Horse Creek area, was a very dear friend of 45 years duration. She will miss their many legal discussions. Arden studied law on his own and even wrote Supreme Court cases which an attorney would review with few changes and would then transcribe to their papers and submit to the Montana Supreme Court. “Arden”s Law” was the result of one of these Supreme Court cases.
Arden was well regarded by all who knew him in his hunting guide capacities. Guides and hunters alike admired his skills at navigating difficult terrain, his stamina, and exceptional tracking and hunting skills. As recently as Jan-Feb of 2023, Arden assisted Buck Creek Guide Service and a great crew of other lifelong trappers, woodsmen, hunting guides, survival and bushcraft experts to teach multi-day cold-weather survival skills and advanced bushcraft training exercises to a U.S. Army Special Forces unit in minus 30 temperatures in the Monture area of the Blackfoot Valley. He was very proud of his contribution to this endeavor.
Kern and Susan Mattei, neighbors at Bass Creek, were important friends in later life. Another of Arden’s circle of friends was the group of guys he had morning coffee with in Stevensville. He enjoyed their company and conversation greatly, and they proclaimed him to be “a person who could do anything, difficult as it might be,” and that Arden was among the last of the “old-time mountain men.”
At the time of his death, Arden had been working on two great projects in what were to be his twilight years. The first was his (unpublished) book. He thoroughly enjoyed calling all of his old buddies to get the facts straight from the stories he had regaled us with time and again throughout the years. The book was to be titled “We Damn Near Died,” coming in at enough words to publish six books instead – including some unfinished chapters that were just the name of a story. His other project was developing multiple Flathead Lake properties. He spent many a summer month up there running his heavy machinery, and boating on the lake when he had enough time to undertake the perpetual maintenance required to maintain an old boat.
Arden never wanted “new” over “old.”
Arden was taken from us too soon. Thank you, Arden, for being you, for being a great friend to so many of us, and being a big part of so many great adventures in life. We will miss you greatly.
Friends are invited to a celebration of life at Larry Creek Group Campground, Bass Creek Rd., Stevensville, MT on July 24, 2024, with some camping available there July 23-25. Condolences and memories may be shared with the family at www.whitesittfuneralhome.com.