Belle Cowen, 93, passed peacefully from this life at her home in Wesson, Mississippi, surrounded by family and friends on Aug. 8, 2019. Visitation will be held Friday, Aug. 9, 2019, from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Brookhaven, Mississippi.

The funeral service will begin Friday, Aug. 9, 2019, at 1 p.m. at St. Francis Church with interment following at the Wesson Cemetery in Wesson, Mississippi.

Brookhaven Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Belle was born in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, to Lester and Addie Vinyard on March 29, 1926.  She graduated from Ponchatoula High School and Soulé Business School in New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1943, she married and in 1946, moved to Wesson, Mississippi, where she worked alongside her husband as the bookkeeper for 35 years at Cowen Chevrolet.

Belle was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend.  She was a member of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church.

She loved flowers and birds and was a longtime member of the Wesson Garden Club.  She was also an excellent cook

who brought many Louisiana flavors to her Mississippi dishes.  She was known for her gumbo, Oysters Rockefeller, peach ice cream and delicious pralines. Belle led an active lifestyle which included biking, swimming and Shotokan karate, in which she held a first-degree black belt. In later years, she became an avid reader and Scrabble player with friends Jackye Wiebelt and Pat Lonardo.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Hollis Sr.; son, Hollis Jr.; grandson, Hollis III “Trey”; sister Edith Liles and brothers, Oscar, Walter, Edward James and Clinton Vinyard.

She is survived by her granddaughter, Katrina Smith and husband Lane, of Flagstaff, Arizona; daughter-in-law, Sonya White Cowen of Wesson, Mississippi; sister, Myrtle V. Newman of Long Beach, Mississippi, and a host of nieces, nephews, family and friends.   

The family would like to extend a special thank you to Dr. Steve Liverman, the staff of Stay-Home Home Health and Hospice, the members and staff of St. Francis Assisi Catholic Church and her kind and loving caregivers, Stephanie Anderson, Billie Knight, Rebecca Rhodes, Pat Sills and Zipporah Smith.

In lieu of flowers, please send tributes to the Wesson Cemetery Association at P.O. Box 216, Wesson, MS 39191.

To share condolences please visit www.brookhavenfuneralhome.net.