Donor Legacies
Edward & Eva Keller McCowen
Gift of a Lifetime
Eva McCowen Keller established the Eva McCowen Keller and Edward R. (Rex) McCowen to honor her father, Edward O. McCowen, an educator who was the first superintendent of Scioto County schools and later a U.S. Congressman, and her brother, Edward R. (Rex) McCowen, who succeeded his father as superintendent. Mrs. Keller was extremely proud of the accomplishments of her family and wished to acknowledge and establish a reminder of the history of public education in Scioto County.
Mrs. Keller’s parents were Edward Oscar McCowen (known as E. O.) and Clara Edith Smith McCowen. Mrs. Keller was one of six children. She and all of her siblings followed in their father’s steps and chose the field of education as their occupation. E. O. McCowen started the first "Normal School" in Scioto County in order to train teachers. He believed in educating his daughters as well as his sons. Eva attended Miami University in Oxford. Eva was next to the oldest in her family; however, she outlived all of her siblings. She was ninety-five at her death. She lived alone and maintained her own property and took care of all of her own affairs until five months before her death. She was intelligent and followed news and world events and could discuss politics and history after turning ninety-five.