Richard James McGowan

Richard James McGowan

Richard James McGowan, a life-long educator, historian, master gardener, and beloved husband, father and grandfather died on February 25, 2021 from complications of pneumonia. He was 86.

Richard was born on August 29, 1934 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the oldest son of Richard and Mildred Slater McGowan. He grew up in Philadelphia, but moved to a farm in southern New Jersey in 1945 when his father returned from the war. After receiving a degree in history at the University of Pennsylvania in 1955, he served in the U.S. Army, mostly at a medical depot in Croix Chapeau, France, where he attained the rank of corporal. It was there he decided he was a teacher. Returning to civilian life in July 1957, Richard was employed first at the New York Military Academy. He then taught at The Peddie School in New Jersey and obtained a graduate degree at Rutgers University.

In 1964, he joined the Department of Defense Dependent School System (DODDS) and subsequently spent the next 35 years teaching English at American schools in Turkey, in Baumholder and Wiesbaden, Germany, and then in Lakenheath, England, where he lived with his family from 1969 to 1999. 

In Turkey, he met a girl from Denison, Texas, a moment he would later say "was the best thing that ever happened to me." Mary Margaret Smith was another DODDS teacher, and they married six months after meeting, on March 10, 1965, in Athens, Greece. They had two children: Richard Jerome McGowan, a high school teacher in McKinney, Texas, and Anne Marie Johnson, a lawyer in Dallas, Texas. They and their spouses, Marianna Hubbard and Nathan Johnson, "produced six talented grandchildren who were the greatest delight in my life" – Thomas McGowan, Mary-Margaret Rose McGowan, James McGowan, Finn Johnson, Theodore Johnson, and Sophie Johnson. In addition to his wife, children and grandchildren, Richard is survived by a wonderful brother, Thomas Slater McGowan and his wife, Betty Ruth, who reside in Strasburg, Pennsylvania. 

Richard was the consummate teacher. He had a gift for instilling proper grammar and punctuation in 9th graders (they never forgot him), but his true pedagogical passion was for English literature, poetry, and semantics. He was a beautiful writer, particularly of letters. When Mary Margaret left the classroom in the 1980s to lead the teachers' union as European Director for the National Education Association (NEA), Richard was her chief supporter, helping write correspondence and newsletters to teachers. (He secretly loved it when he was compared to Dennis Thatcher.) Through DODDS and their work with the NEA, Richard and Mary Margaret enjoyed 35 years as part of a close-knit community of overseas educators. To this day, their DODDS friends are more like family. 

No description of Richard's life in England would be complete without mentioning a Labrador Retriever named Monksfield. They adored each other, and were inseparable for 15 years, daily exploring the Little Ouse and Thetford Chase.
 
After retiring to Texas in 1999, Richard's primary hobby became his grandchildren. He built forts and rope swings and fire pits on their Denison property, and spent many hours outside encouraging his grandchildren to run wild, operate heavy machinery, and engage in armed combat. He also encouraged them in their music and art (a capable watercolorist himself), imparted his love of history and nature, and taught them how to make a proper cup of tea. When not occupied with his grandchildren, Richard could be found in his garden with his dog, growing some of the most beautiful roses in North Texas. After earning the distinction of Texas Master Gardener, he volunteered a great deal of his time to the Grayson County Master Gardeners, the Red River Rose Society, the Keep Denison Beautiful Commission, and the Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site. 

In 2015, Richard and Mary Margaret moved to McKinney, Texas, where they lived in the historic district next door to their son Richard and his family. 

Richard McGowan donated his body to UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, an act which he considered his last teaching assignment. 

The McGowan and Johnson families have created a memorial scholarship in Richard's honor which will be used to help fund a college education for a Texas public high school student. Contributions to the Richard McGowan Scholarship would be deeply meaningful to the family and can be made in two ways: (1) checks made out to "McKinney Education Foundation," memo line: "Richard McGowan Scholarship," can be mailed to McKinney Education Foundation, 510 Heard Street, McKinney, Texas 75069, or (2) online contributions can be made by clicking on the "Donate Now" link on the menu bar at www.Mckinneyef.org. Please  indicate that contributions are made in "memoriam/honor" of Richard McGowan.

To plant trees in memory, please visit our Sympathy Store.

Published in The Herald Democrat from Feb. 28 to Mar. 2, 2021

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