Barry Steven Cowsill, 1954-2005

The search for Barry Cowsill ended this week. His family, friends, and fans are all grieving his death in New Orleans, where he initially survived Hurricane Katrina but died. His body was identified this week, four months after he was last heard from. Barry was a unique soul and a generous heart, and while he had many earthly troubles, he also managed to share with many people and touched so many lives. My heart just breaks for his family.

As a young teenager, I was a Cowsill fan extraordinaire, plastering my walls with their photos, listening to the albums, going to concerts, even working on a petition to get them back at our Champlain Valley Fair for a second year in a row in 1970 (I was just 12). When the C's came to perform that second summer, the local paper arranged a photo session for the petition girls and the Cowsill family, so I got to meet them all. My biggest crush was on Barry's younger brother, John, but Barry could definitely set my heart to beating, too.

I had a correspondence with him a few years ago and I bought his solo CD directly from Barry. In recent years I've also had a personal connection with John, who has the biggest heart. Right now I'm just blanketing the Cowsills with my prayers and love, and I will dig out Barry's CD today to give it another listen.

His obituary is in most of the national papers today. You can also read about him at www.cowsill.com.

Barry wrote:
And I take the secret treasures,
Of my heart and soul,
And I'll keep them covered safe within my reach.
Till the time when I can share them with the others.
Move on down the road,
Slip me through the door,
Oh take me to your dreams
O! Timeless
I want for more.
Send me on my way,
To them other times.
There's alot of work ahead for me tomorrow.

Lyrics from O! Timeless
Barry Cowsill 1998