Richard Leonard Cowley

Richard Leonard Cowley returned to his Heavenly home on August 21, 2025, and is likely celebrating a joyful reunion with his parents and siblings.

Richard was born on June 10, 1941, in Murray, Utah, to Melvin and Dorothy Cowley. He grew up on a farm in what was then known as Granite, Utah, near the mouth of Cottonwood Canyon.

He graduated from Jordan High School. After graduating, he served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Gulf States Mission, which included Louisiana and Tennessee.

Richard worked for 38 years at Allied Development — “If we don’t have it, you don’t need it.” He held several positions there, such as general store manager in both the Tooele and West Valley stores, as well as manager of the hardware department in the Murray store. He particularly enjoyed buying merchandise for the various stores.

He then went on to be a successful business owner of both ABCs of Dutch Oven Cooking and Trampoline World. He loved working with the public and treated everyone with fairness, kindness and generosity.

Fresh off his mission, Richard agreed to be set up on a blind date — the best decision he ever made. He and his adorable date, Linda McDonald, went to see the movie How the West Was Won at the Villa Theater. She attended his mission homecoming the following Sunday.

“He was sweet, charming, and so handsome,” said Linda. And the rest is history.

Richard and Linda were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple on August 14, 1963. They recently celebrated 62 years of marriage. Together, they had 5 busy boys. Richard (spouse Colleen) and their children Brady, Paige, and Cody, Tom (spouse Kristi) and their children Megan and Daniel, Dan (spouse Alexis) and their children Ella and Morgen, Jim (spouse Sherrie) and their children Michelle, Quinten, Gavin, and Ashton, and Randy (spouse Misty) and their children James and Lily.

Richard had a sassy side to him and could be a tease, but he was easy to love and loved his family a great deal. He had a way of making people feel comfortable from the moment they met him. He loved to spend his time in the mountains, especially the Uintas. He loved to fish and enjoyed being outdoors in nature. He was a king of Dutch oven cooking. He taught classes at Mt. Jordan Middle School, judged cooking competitions, and even produced a Dutch oven cookbook and instructional video. In addition, He and Linda were involved in many scouting events together. Each earned their Silver Beaver Award, which is a distinguished award in the scouting program for adults who have provided exceptional and noteworthy service to youth.

He is survived by his loving wife and his children. He was preceded in death by his parents and siblings, Gene, Tom, Wayne, Janet, and Joanne, as well as his grandson, Daniel.

A viewing will be held on Tuesday, September 2nd from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. at Anderson & Goff Mortuary, 11859 So. 700 E. Draper, Utah. Funeral service will take place on Wednesday, September 3rd at 11:00 a.m. with a short viewing preceding the service at 10:00 a.m. Funeral service will be held at the Bluffdale Stake Center 2742 West, 14400 S. Bluffdale, Utah.