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Former Arlington Heights priest dies in Bolivia

A priest who got his start in Arlington Heights and went on to become a missionary in Bolivia has died.

The Rev. Raymond Cowell, a Chicago native who served at Our Lady of the Wayside Parish in Arlington Heights in the 1950s, died Oct. 31 in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, following an accident, according to the Archdiocese of Chicago. He was 82.

Cowell had served with the Missionary Society of St. James the Apostle in Santa Cruz since 1959. He had remained there following his retirement in 2005, officials said.

After he was ordained in 1956 by Cardinal Samuel Stritch, Cowell served as assistant pastor at Our Lady of the Wayside Parish in Arlington Heights for a year. From 1957 to 1959, he was assistant pastor at St. Joseph Parish in Waukegan, which closed in 1991.

Cowell graduated from Quigley Preparatory Seminary and the University of Saint Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary.

His funeral and burial took place in Santa Cruz. A memorial Mass will be held locally at a later date, according to archdiocese officials.

He is survived by his brother, James Cowell, of Downers Grove.

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