Cindy and Jeff Cowles Find Heart at Home at St. Mark’s

As much as anyone and, quite frankly, better than most, Cindy and Jeff Cowles understand that home truly is where the heart is.

While they’ve lived in a lot of places and attended an even larger number of churches, here in Jacksonville and at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church is where their collective heart rests and, judging by their enthusiasm, is going to remain.

Cindy was born and raised “all over Florida,” and first met Jeff – a Florida transplant from the Cleveland area – in high school in St. Petersburg.

“It is brutally cold up that way,” Jeff said. “It was great as a kid, because we’d have 10-foot snow drifts. It was awesome. Then, we come to Florida and are swimming in our pool on Christmas Day. Our neighbors thought we were crazy. Three years after that, we couldn’t even put a toe in the pool in the winter.”

Cindy and Jeff first met in high school but did not start dating one another right away. According to Cindy, they first dated each other’s friends.

In 1975, the two made their way to the University of Florida for college. A year before their 1979 graduation, Cindy and Jeff got married.

“We lived like paupers in married housing,” Cindy humorously remarked. “After college, we couldn’t find any employment we felt was right for us in the state of Florida, so we moved.”

With his food science background, Jeff’s first job resulted in Atlanta being home. It was there, in 1982, that their daughter, Laura, was born. Now 44, Laura now lives in Washington, D.C.

The couple has moved a lot. In fact, their most recent – to Jacksonville – was their 17th relocation.

“In my industry, if you’re willing to move, you can advance, take on more responsibility and make more money,” Jeff said. “If you don’t want to move, which is the case with many people, it gets tough unless you’re in a big city like Chicago or Dallas that have a lot of restaurant chains. With Laura our only child, we felt like we could be the moving type without causing any problems with or for her.”

“Barring the west coast, if you named a city or place, chances are we’ve lived there or nearby,” Cindy said.

It was Jeff’s in the field of food job of product development and innovation that kept them on the go.

Prior to coming to Jacksonville four years ago, they spent 20 years living and working on St. Simons Island, where Cindy was actively involved in the home interior business.

In the short span of just six months in 2015, the couple moved their three remaining parents; Cindy’s mom and dad and Jeff’s mother, to St. Simons. Part of the struggle at the time was Jeff’s work schedule, which kept him out of town often.

Believe it or not, the move to Jacksonville was the only one they made by choice.

“After 20 years on St. Simons Island with the three aging parents, we felt that staying there wasn’t as ideal as coming to Jacksonville,” Cindy explained. “We felt that way because we didn’t feel our parents could experience all the best in their aging years up there.”

 They were already making their way to and from Jacksonville for everything from Dr. appointments to shopping centers or other dining experiences.

They landed in San Marco but would love to end up in the Ortega or Avondale areas.

Among the items topping their list of to-dos was to find a church.

What has come to mean so much to the couple – that being their faith– was not something Jeff was born into.

“Early in life, I went to church two days each year, Christmas and Easter,” he laughed.

Cindy, on the other hand, was a cradle Episcopalian. Aware of the church she had regularly attended, Jeff began going each Sunday with Cindy late in high school.

When they first moved to town, they found themselves searching for a church to attend Christmas services.

“They best one Cindy was able to find online was St. Mark’s,” Jeff said. “We had our daughter with us and were running a little late. So, by the time we got there, it was so full, we ended up having to sit in the chapel with the spillover folks and watch the service on the video screen.”

As impressed as they were, especially by the number of parishioners, they opted to continue looking for a church closer to their home in San Marco.

“We looked around a lot and were very pragmatic about where we wanted to go,” said Jeff. “We went to the Cathedral a lot, but St. Mark’s kept drawing us in. We finally went over to take an official look at it last year….and we were stunned.”

Claiming to have never seen an Episcopal Church that heavy and vibrant, Jeff and Cindy were all in.

“For me, I love the fact that I’m still not able to participate in all the things the church offers,” Cindy smiled. “I love that there is so much to choose from. Presently, I love the Mahjong the church hosts on Monday afternoons. That involvement has put me around some of the greatest ladies I have ever met. I’m also an avid needle pointer, so I love that there’s a weekly stitchers program.”

As attractive as those types of activities are, Cindy and Jeff agree that what sold them most on St. Mark’s was the warmth and sincerity of the welcome.

“People here are so kind and welcoming…to everyone,” Cindy said. “That makes is all worth it as newcomers. We’ve done this a lot and, to be honest, I didn’t even know if I wanted to continue doing it. But, St. Mark’s was absolutely what kept us in church on a regular basis.”

“The first time I came to a Sunday morning service at St. Mark’s, I did so by myself on a whim while Cindy rested,” Jeff said. “Everything about St. Mark’s fit exactly as I hoped it would.”

Jeff continued by explaining that initial experience to be a paradox. On one hand, he saw the massive infrastructure, magnificent organ, huge choir and kids everywhere. It all seemed very high and at an arm’s length.

“But, then I looked in the bulletin and noticed some really cool, inviting stuff,” Jeff noted. “I saw the Mahjong, knitting…..but, what really blew me away was the upcoming scalloping trip the church was hosting.”

The relaxed feel that outing seemed to be offering was one that impressed Jeff immensely.

Six weeks later, he was a part of that scalloping trip.

In addition to the traditional Sunday morning services, Jeff and Cindy were – and still are – big fans of Sunday evening’s The River service.

As Cindy and Jeff continue to make the most of all St. Mark’s has to offer, they will no doubt continue to experience open arms of fellow parishioners, staff and volunteers. Part of what makes St. Mark’s the special, successful place it comes by way of everyone knowing…everyone.

Jeff and Cindy Cowles certainly are welcomed as a part of that everyone. And, they’re very much worth knowing.

“When all is said and done, I’d like to be remembered as, simply, a loyal friend,” Cindy said.

“If you’re her friend, Cindy won’t leave you…ever,” said Jeff.

“Kindness and spur-of-the-moment fun are two of the qualities about Jeff I love most,” added Cindy.

“For me, I would hope to be remembered by people as someone who really cared,” added Jeff.

While commenting on the virtues and merits of one another, Cindy recalled a particular Christmas when she and Jeff were dating. As a form of caroling door-to-door in the neighborhood, Jeff and his friends opted to wooed residents with trumpets instead of vocals.

“We’d hit as many houses as we could possibly get to on Christmas Eve,” Jeff laughed. “And, that sound isn’t something anyone can just ignore.”

“I knew I’d made it when he and his friends made it to my house,” laughed Cindy.

Turns out, she was right. And, with Jacksonville and St. Mark’s serving as Cindy and Jeff’s new – and ideally final – homes, also right is that old adage: home is where the heart is.