AURORA, Colo. – For Nancy Cowee, the gift shops at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital are more than places to shop. They're places she helped build nearly 50 years ago.
Now 94, Cowee is retiring from her longtime volunteer role after dedicating half a century and at least 36,634 documented hours to the hospital.
Her journey began when she and her husband, John W. Cowee, moved to Colorado after he was hired as chancellor of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.
"I went to the first or second meeting of the faculty wives, who were interested in the hospital, and I suggested a gift shop," Cowee recalled.
Denver7's Richard Butler has more on Liam's legacy in the video below:
Alongside other faculty wives, Cowee helped establish the first gift shop at the former University Hospital on Ninth Avenue in Denver. What started as a small operation near the hospital entrance eventually grew into three gift shops.
"I'm proud there are three hospital gift shops in the University of Colorado Hospital because we started with nothing," Cowee said.
Over the decades, Cowee helped manage the shops, purchase merchandise and assist customers looking for gifts for loved ones receiving care.
In more recent years, she became known for her attention to the stuffed animals sold in the shops.
"You would catch her fluffing up their little faces and making sure they were all perfectly placed," said Maurine Geddie, a sales associate at UCHealth. “Nancy was one of our greatest volunteers, who's been at the hospital for many years.”
Geddie described Cowee as kind, loving and deeply committed to helping others.
"She was a very, very special person. We're going to miss her a lot," Geddie said.
UCHealth records show Cowee contributed at least 36,634 volunteer hours, although those records don't cover her entire time with the hospital.
"I never counted hours. And when they told me that, I was amazed," Cowee said.
For Cowee, volunteering was never about keeping track of time. It was about connecting with people and making a difference.
"We all do good things for people. It's human nature, and I love being a human," she said.
To recognize her decades of service, Denver7 surprised Cowee with an Everyday Hero award.
"Thank you for even considering me," she said during the presentation.
Although she's stepping away from her regular gift shop duties, Cowee isn't ruling out a return.
"And who knows? I may end up back in the shop because I do miss it," she said.
Denver7 features a different Everyday Hero each week. To nominate a hero in your life, click here.