Mercedes Ruth Handy Cowley

Mrs. Mercedes Ruth Handy Cowley, 58, of Martin died Thursday, September 23, 2021, at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Union City.

Visitation will be held from 11:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. on Friday, October 8, 2021, at McCabe United Methodist Church.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions and health concerns The Celebration of Life Services will be for the family and worship participants.

Mercedes Ruth Handy Cowley was born February 7, 1963, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Her mother was Mrs. Naomi Robinson Bookman, and her adoptive father and mother were Bishop W.T. Handy, Jr., and Mrs. Ruth Robinson Handy. They all preceded her in death.

Mercedes received the love, nurture and guidance she needed and was devoted to these loving, caring and concerned parents. She believed in the Triune God and credits all them for laying a solid foundation of Christian consciousness that would form and frame her life of service to the church and humanity. Naomi Robinson Bookman and Ruth Robinson Handy were sisters and loved each other dearly.

She was a graduate of Boylan Haven Mather Academy, her high school located in Camden, South Carolina. She attended Wiley college, Marshall, Texas and received the degree of Bachelor of Arts, Nursing Home Administration, and received recognition for her academic performance on numerous occasions. On November 5,1982, she began dating Orrin Cowley and the rest is history.

She was employed by Whirlpool, Open-Arm Rescare and Metro Public Schools in Nashville, TN.

Mercedes leaves to cherish her memory her devoted husband Rev. Orrin A. Cowley, Sr.; and a son, Orrin A. Cowley, Jr. (Alena) of Hendersonville, TN; a daughter, Deidra Denise Cowley Clay of Martin, TN; grandsons: Alonzo, Ras, Jordan and Orrin, III; granddaughters: Laila, Charity and Yhana; sisters: Dorthy (Dee Dee) Davis of Franklin, TN, Rose Thompson of Alexandria, LA, Atty Marie Bookman of New Orleans, LA, and Irma Brown (Calvin) of Alexandria, LA; brothers: Rev. Stephen Handy (Shelley) of Brentwood, TN, Robert Bookman (JoAnn) of New Orleans, LA, Elder Thomas Bookman (Sandy) of New Orleans, LA; mother in law, Mrs Viola Smith Cowley of Irving, Texas; a sister in law, Jetawone (Kirk) Cowley Presswood of Irving, Texas; a brother in law, Rev. Ellen (Jennifer) Cowley of Richardson, Texas; uncles: Eddie Smith, Jr. of Lexington, Mississippi, James Smith and Al Cowley, both of St. Louis, Missouri; aunts: Laura Love (John) of Forrest City, Arkansas, and Lela LeFlore of Cordova, Tennessee; and a host of cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.

In lieu of flowers, memorials for Mercedes Ruth Handy Cowley may be sent to the Wiley College (Home of The Great Debaters) Endowment Fund, 711 Wiley Avenue, Marshall, Texas 75670.

Rawls Funeral Home - Union City 731-885-8110