Mary Gaye Cowart, known to her friends and family simply as Gaye, passed away peacefully at home in Jacksonville, Florida, on September 15, 2026, just two days shy of her 69th birthday.

Gaye was born on September 17, 1957, in Alexandria, Virginia, to Dorothy and Roy Cowart. Because of her parents’ careers, she spent her childhood moving around a bit before eventually graduating from Northside High School in Atlanta, Georgia. She went on to attend Oglethorpe University, where she studied liberal arts and sciences.

After college, Gaye followed her parents to Jacksonville, Florida, which would become her home for the rest of her life. She began her career managing retail stores around town before joining Payless Shoes. There, she quickly distinguished herself through her knowledge of the business, her ability to lead people, and her genuine talent for building relationships. She eventually rose to the position of District and Regional Supervisor, a role in which she flourished and formed many wonderful and lasting friendships.

Gaye was a workhorse, the kind of person who could keep going long after most people would have decided they had done enough for one day. Work was important to her, but so were the people she met along the way. She had a way of making coworkers into friends and friends into family, and she carried those relationships with her throughout her life.

When the retail landscape began to change and Payless Shoes started downsizing, Gaye had the good sense to recognize when it was time for a new chapter. She took an early retirement and once she was finally free from the demands of work, she made it count.

Retirement gave Gaye more time for two of her favorite things: friends and travel. She and her partner of 31 years, Mary Ann Hawkins, loved to cruise. Together with friends, they traveled the world, enjoyed beautiful beaches, endless buffets, and, most importantly, the company of people they loved.

Gaye knew how to enjoy herself. She wasn't interested in simply checking destinations off a list. For her, the best part of traveling was the experience—the food, the stories, the laughter, the people sitting around the table, and whatever adventure happened to come next. A cruise with Gaye was likely to involve good food, good friends Vic and Carol Lord, and at least a few stories that would get retold later.

And Gaye had a wonderful sense of humor. She could find something funny in everyday life and had a way of making the people around her laugh without ever needing to be the center of attention. She had a quick wit and a practical outlook, and she wasn't afraid to call things exactly as she saw them. Those who knew her best will remember not only what she said, but the look on her face when she said it.

That humor became especially valuable during some of the hardest chapters of her life.

At the age of 14, Gaye underwent surgery for severe scoliosis, during which a steel rod was attached to her spine. Decades later, that rod had caused significant compression damage and ultimately had to be removed in another major surgery. After finding the right surgeon, Gaye and Mary Ann traveled to St. Louis, where Gaye endured hours of complex surgery that left much of her spine supported by brackets and screws.

What followed was months of pain, frustration, physical therapy, and a recovery that would have tested anyone.

But Gaye was not easily intimidated.

She faced the recovery the same way she faced so many other difficult things in life: head-on, with determination, a healthy dose of stubbornness, and enough humor to keep everyone else from feeling sorry for her for too long.

She had plenty of reasons to complain, and nobody would have blamed her if she did. Instead, she kept moving forward. With Mary Ann beside her and her nephew David helping along the way, Gaye worked through the physical therapy and the long, exhausting process of getting her strength back.

That was Gaye. She could acknowledge that something was hard without allowing it to define her.

Her resilience was never about pretending that things didn't hurt. It was about getting up and trying again anyway.

Even as chronic health problems eventually took their toll, Gaye continued to treasure the people and simple pleasures that made her life meaningful. She loved her friends. She loved traveling. She loved animals. She loved a good meal. She loved the Jacksonville Jaguars. And she loved having someone beside her to share it all with.

She is survived by her beloved partner, Mary Ann Hawkins; her sister (from another mother), Robbie Scantling; niece, Robin deMarrais (Scott); nephews, David Sweeney, Eric Barley (Kellie) and Chad Barley (Heather); chosen nephews, Hunter Scantling (Britney) and Garret Scantling; great nieces, Ashley, Janet, Bridget, Amanda, Sara, Brooke and Christa; great nephews, Colton, Justin, Trey and Jeremy; sisters-in-law Donna and Becky; brother-in-law, Buddy; her beloved cats, Lola, Louie, Piper, Magic, Smidgit, and Maverick and many friends and loved ones whose lives were made richer by knowing her.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Roy and Dorothy Cowart; her sisters, Dottie (Cowart) Sweeney and Adrienne (Cowart) Bell.

Those who knew Gaye will remember many different versions of her: the determined teenager who endured major surgery, the hardworking retail manager who knew how to get things done, the traveler who could appreciate a good cruise and an even better buffet, the friend who could make people laugh, the cat lover, and the woman who somehow kept putting one foot in front of the other when life made the road especially difficult.

Most of all, they will remember Gaye being Gaye—strong-willed, funny, loyal, independent, and full of life.

A Celebration of Life will be held in Jacksonville in the coming weeks. Details will be shared with family and friends as they become available.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that those wishing to honor Gaye’s memory consider making a donation to their local Humane Society, in recognition of the love she had for animals.

Gaye lived a life filled with hard work, adventure, friendship, love, laughter, and resilience. She leaves behind people who will miss her terribly, but also countless stories—many of them funny, some of them difficult, and all of them reminders of a woman who lived life on her own terms.

And knowing Gaye, she probably wouldn't want everyone to spend too much time being sad about it.

She'd probably tell us to remember the good stories, enjoy the buffet, take the cruise, love the people sitting beside us, and keep moving forward.