Eliza Breen Cowey

Eliza Breen Cowey, 16, passed away Friday, April 10, at home in South Squirrel Hill, after a long, challenging fight with a rare brain cancer.

Born July 27, 2009, in San Francisco, Eliza exhibited multiple lifelong traits of a native San Franciscan: she refused to be anyone but her most authentic self. She loved creating art. And she avoided sunshine, preferring walks on gray, empty beaches to hot summer days.

She was joined in 2011 by her beloved sister Gillian, and unlike many big sisters, she never saw the pint-sized newcomer as a rival. After the family moved to Pittsburgh in 2012, the girls enjoyed typical neighborhood adventures, and as teens, described themselves as two sides of the same coin: Eliza was the moon to Gillian’s sun, night to her day, raincloud to Gillian’s rainbow. They reveled in their differences, and shared a common love of video games, crafting, and all the weirdness the world has to offer.

Eliza attended Minadeo Elementary School, where her teachers lauded her kindness and eagerness to learn. One of her proudest moments was acceptance to the CAPA middle school visual arts program, but Covid had other ideas: her sixth grade year was spent learning remotely. By the time she began attending school in seventh grade, she exhibited signs of what would later be identified as a rare brain tumor.

For the next four years, Eliza lived life from MRI to MRI. She endured seven brain surgeries, radiation treatment, and chemotherapy. Her illness meant she had to leave CAPA, but she thrived in the intimate environment of The University School among a caring staff and dear friends.

Until late 2025, she planned to attend college to be an art therapist. She believed she would be able to live on her own someday. She wanted to help kids going through chemo and to share her art with the world. Unfortunately, she was forced to accept that the cancer would outpace her medical team’s valiant attempts to slow it down.

While cancer consumed much of her thoughts and time, though, she lived as much as she could. She hunted ghosts at The Stanley Hotel in Colorado. She visited Salem, Massachusetts, to explore her love of the occult. She slept in the Steven Universe room at the Cartoon Network hotel, and spent hours on the beach in her beloved Cape May, New Jersey. She loved nothing more than sipping a soy mocha while drawing in a coffee shop. She enjoyed horror movies, “Adventure Time,” and “Bob’s Burgers,” always favoring media that reflected the warm humor of her heart. Earlier this year, she got a tattoo of BMO, her favorite cartoon character.

And Eliza drew. She created self-portraits, characters, and in 2025, focused on detailed pen architectural drawings of gothic structures. Her illustrations are featured in a special collection in an online store for the podcast Flanagan’s Wake, devoted to the works of her favorite director, Mike Flanagan. All profits of her designs will benefit Camp Can Do, a camp for cancer patients that she attended for three summers: https://doofmedia.myshopify.com/collections/elizas-artwork

Eliza suffered from anxiety, and she had much to fear. When she realized she would be going into hospice care, she cried, but she was also glad she’d never return to the hospital again. Eliza passed in the company of those who loved her most, and they carry with them her legacy of kindness, generosity, humor, and embrace of the darker side of life.

Eliza is survived by her mother, Jody Handley; father, David Cowey; sister, Gillian Cowey; grandmothers, Lorraine Handley and Colette Cowey; aunt Samantha Handley (William McMillen Clutter); uncle Jim Handley (Anne Martucci); uncle John Cowey; aunt Sara Cowey; aunt Catherine Cowey (Andy Springer); her beloved cousins: Sadie and Ian Clutter; Dylan and Caleb Springer; and Lucy, Parker, and Roland Handley; and her dog, Lolly, who never left her side. She is preceded in death by her grandmother Ann Breen; and grandfathers Ross Cowey and Jim Handley, Jr.

A public visitation will be held from 4 PM to 8 PM Thursday, April 16, at Kanai Funeral Home, 500 Greenfield Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15207. Tel: 1-412-521-1943. A memorial service will follow the next day at 11AM Friday, April 17, at Kanai Funeral Home. The family would love if attendees would be willing to share stories about Eliza during the service. No meal will be served after at the family’s request.

In lieu of flowers, it was Eliza’s wish for mourners to donate to Camp Can Do. You can send donations in her memory to Camp Can Do Fundraising, 67 Golf Club Drive, Langhorne, PA 19047; or visit their website at https://campcandoforever.campbraingiving.com/.

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