Cogswell, James Arthur
COGSWELL, James Arthur
James Arthur Cogswell died at home on November 18, 2021, just short of his 99th birthday. He was born November 29, 1922 in Houston, Texas, the second of four children of Prentiss Arthur Cogswell and Germaine Gireud. He attended Southwestern-at-Memphis (Rhodes College) from 1938 to 1942, graduating with Honors in Greek. In September 1942 he entered Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, earning his Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1945. On June 11, 1945, Jim married Margaret Elizabeth Griffin (Peggy), his wife and partner for 67 years. Jim, Peggy, and their infant daughter sailed for Japan as missionaries on December 17, 1948, where they helped found Shikoku Christian College. The family returned to the US in 1953 for their first furlough, when Jim began work on his Doctor of Theology dissertation published in 1957 as Until the Day Dawn. In 1955 the family moved back to Japan where Jim joined the faculty at Kinjo University in Nagoya. After the catastrophic Ise Bay Typhoon in September 1959 his work shifted to also include relief work, greatly influencing the direction of his life's mission. In 1961 Jim was appointed Area Secretary for the Far East at the Presbyterian Board of World Missions in Nashville. In 1961 he received his Th.D. from Union Theological Seminary in Richmond and was awarded a D. D. by Southwestern-at-Memphis. In 1967 Jim became pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Franklin, Tennessee, where he worked tirelessly as an advocate for civil rights and racial justice. In 1971 he became the first Director of the Presbyterian Task Force on World Hunger in Atlanta. In 1983 he became Director of Overseas Ministry for the National Council of Churches in New York City. When Jim officially retired in 1988, he and Peggy moved back to their home in Atlanta. Over the years, Jim authored several books growing out of his work: The Church in Mission to a World in Crisis (1969), The Promise of the New: Studies in Matthew (1974), The Church and the Rural Poor (1975), and No Place Left Called Home (1983). He had a beautifully trained voice and was the tenor soloist in Handel's Messiah and in Hayden's Creation performed by the Nagoya Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in 1959 and 1960. In 1999 Jim and Peggy moved to Highland Farms Retirement Community in Black Mountain, NC. There, he helped found the Presbyterian Heritage Center in Montreat and served as Parish Associate for the Black Mountain Presbyterian Church. Jim was an avid Atlanta Braves fan, never missing a broadcast, and he was elated by this year's World Series victory. Jim was preceded in death by his beloved Peggy, in October 2012. He is survived by his four children, Margaret, Jim, Sara, and Dan, 6 grandchildren, and 6 great grandchildren. Together, Jim and Peggy remained missionaries all of their lives, giving the best of themselves to others so that others might discover and share in their life-affirming Christian faith. A memorial celebration of his life will be held at Black Mountain Presbyterian Church on Saturday, December 18, at 2:00 pm. In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations to The Presbyterian Heritage Center in Montreat or The Black Mountain Home for Children, both of which engaged in missions very close to Jim's heart. Condolences may be left at: www.penlandfamilyfuneralhome.com.
Penland Family Funeral Home is honored to be assisting the Cogswell family with arrangements.
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Funeral Home Information
Penland Family Funeral Home Inc
125 South Avenue
Swannanoa, NC
28778
