Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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4 UCW JANUARY 11 - 17, 2023 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM My dear friend Joy Cogswell has passed but leaves a legacy of extreme devotion to God, her family and her music. Bill Kirby of CityView Today has known Joy for decades. You will find his wonderful heartfelt perspective on Joy on page 10. His article first appeared online Jan. 3. What follows is my perspective. Joy, a stunningly beautiful woman with exceptional God-given musical talent, touched and influenced thousands of lives during her 45-year career at Snyder Memorial Baptist Church. e Bowman family represents three of those lives. In 2002, Joy became Snyder's Music Director and head of the Snyder Music Academy. Even though she worked with many adults, it is incalculable how many young people owe their musical careers and success to her, too. I first met Joy at Methodist University in 1986 when we took our son Grady, then four years old, and enrolled him in her Kindermusik class. She was terrific at working with young children. She transformed the entire room into a symphony of love and patience as she gently transferred her passion for God and music in a way that would change their lives. We have always credited Joy's influence on Grady as the genesis of his successful musical and theatrical career. A career that has carried him to Broadway and around the world, singing and dancing with Joy's same enthusiastic penchant for dedica- tion and creativity. She was the Musical Godmother of all her students and loved following their careers and celebrating their successes. After Grady graduated from Kinder- musik I had little contact with Joy until I started Up & Coming Weekly in 1996. By this time, her reputation as a highly gifted pianist was commonplace, nearing celeb- rity status. at year she recorded and re- leased her music on several cassette tapes that I willingly helped her market and promoted during the Fayetteville Junior Leagues' Christmas Holly Day Fair. Sev- eral years later, as Director of the Synder Music Academy, we discussed how unfor- tunate it was that the children she taught had few opportunities to showcase their talents. So, together we created a youth ensemble with a singing, dancing, and educational mission called: e Kidsville Kids! ese young people and Kidsville's Truman the Dragon became ambas- sadors for our literacy and educational resource, Kidsville News! We publish and provide Kidsville News! free of charge to Cumberland County and Fort Bragg teachers, parents and children K-5th grades. For years, this enthusiastic troupe sang and danced their way into the hearts of children and adults, promoting read- ing, education, and fun-healthy lifestyles. Joy was on the board and past president of the nonprofit Kidsville News Literacy and Education Foundation. Because of this talent pool, Joy took a leap of faith and decided to produce the children's opera, "Tom Sawyer." It was performed on the banks of the Cape Fear River. is was an ideal location for this outstanding performance. "Tom Sawyer" was a huge success, and Cogswell's children's opera became the first and only to be performed in Cumberland County. Joy came to Fayetteville in 1970 follow- ing her husband Bob, who got stationed at Pope Air Force Base. Like many others who arrive in our community temporar- ily, they found themselves enthralled with our friendliness and southern hospital- ity and found it hard to leave. e folks at Snyder Memorial Baptist Church had much to do with that. at church played a significant role in Joy and Bob's life. She called their Snyder family of nearly 50 years one of the most loving congrega- tions she has ever known. And Bob is no doubt her biggest fan and advocate. In an interview with U&CW several years ago, she admits her career would not have been possible without her husband. "He has been so supportive; he even joined the choir and orchestra to see me. He has been my biggest supporter our whole marriage," she said. "I love him dearly." ose who knew Joy loved her dearly, and will miss her sweet and gentle spirit. However, we are all better off having had her in our lives. For me, her memory will be unforgettable, and I'll take solace in the fact that she made this a better com- munity and world to live in. Her memory and influences will live on in the thou- sands of people she touched during her 50-year career and 75 years on this earth. So, move over Beethoven, and listen. at heavenly sound you hear is our girl, Joy. STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman Bill@upandcomingweekly.com OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Paulette Naylor accounting@upandcomingweekly.com MANAGING EDITOR April Olsen editor@upandcomingweekly.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Hannah Lee assistanteditor@upandcomingweekly. com ART DIRECTOR Courtney Sapp-Scott art@upandcomingweekly.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Isaiah Jones graphics@upandcomingweekly.com STAFF WRITERS Alyson Hansen Ashley Shirley Kathleen Ramsey Chayenne Burns Katrina Wilson CONTRIBUTING WRITERS John Hood, Pitt Dickey, Jim Garamone, Bill Kirby Jr., D.G. Martin, Rabbi Dov Goldberg, Mindy Wharton COVER Design by Isaiah Jones MARKETING ASSOCIATE Linda McAlister linda@upandcomingweekly.com DISTRIBUTION MANAGER/SALES ADMINISTRATOR Paulette Naylor Up & Coming Weekly www.upandcomingweekly.com 208 Rowan St. P.O. Box 53461 Fayetteville, NC 28305 PHONE: 910-484-6200- FAX: 910-484-9218 Up & Coming Weekly is a "Quality of Life" publication with local features, news and information on what's happening in and around the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community. Published weekly on Wednesdays, Up & Coming Weekly welcomes manuscripts, photographs and artwork for publication consideration, but assumes no responsibility for them. We cannot accept responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts or material. Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. The publisher reserves the right to edit or reject copy submitted for publication. Up & Coming Weekly is free of charge and distributed at indoor and outdoor locations throughout Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, Pope Army Airfield, Hope Mills and Spring Lake. Readers are limited to one copy per person. © 2020 by F&B Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or advertisements without permission is strictly prohibited. Various ads with art graphics designed with elements from: vecteezy.com and freepik.com. Association of Community Publishers BILL BOWMAN, Publisher. COMMENTS? BILL@upandcomin- gweekly.com. 910-484-6200. PUBLISHER'S PEN Sweet music in Heaven: Move over Beethoven by BILL BOWMAN Joy Cogswell (far right) poses with Truman the Dragon, Bill Bowman (far left) and the Kidsville Kids! in this file photo. Joy Cogswell "I believe God gave me a gift to be able to share His love through my hands. at's always been my goal: to have people not look at me, but to ... hear what God is trying to say to them through the music." — Joy Cogswell, 2018