Cowles W. Herr ’53
Born in New York City, Cowles attended the Lawrenceville School before coming to Princeton. He was a member of Cap and Gown and majored in politics, writing his thesis on the “Reorganization of the New Jersey Judicial System.”
After graduating, Cowles served as an engineer in the Navy on the USS Harwood, a destroyer based in Newport, R.I. After completing his military service, he entered Columbia Law School and, after graduating in 1958, returned to his family’s law firm, Herr & Fisher, in Flemington, N.J. He was a member of the board of trustees of Hunterdon Medical Center and a governor-appointed leader of the New Jersey Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection.
Cowles lived on an operating farm and offered a helping hand to fellow farmers, assisting with plantings and harvests and fostering a sense of camaraderie among the local farming community.
Cowles died Jan. 7, 2024. He is survived by his wife, Janet; four children; six grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Paw in print
October 2024
Exit interviews with alumni retiring from Congress; the Supreme Court’s seismic shift; higher education on the ballot
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