John W. McGowan

John W. McGowan, who was 93, died on March 5, 2023. He was born on December 3, 1929 in Brooklyn, New York but lived most of his youth in Waldwick and Allendale, (Bergen County) New Jersey. He graduated from Ramsey High School in 1948 before joining in the U.S. Merchant Marine from 1949 to 1950 transporting high octane aviation gasoline to Aruba, B.V.I, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Cartagena, Colombia S.A. and throughout South America.

In February 1951, John joined the U.S. Navy and served as a Hospital Corpsman First Class. He then attended a Comprehensive Clinical Laboratory Technology and Blood Bank School for an intensive one-year course at the National Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland to become a Registered Medical Technologist (ASCP). John then served aboard two Aircraft Carriers, the U.S.S. Antietam CVS 36 and the U.S.S. Tarawa CVS 40, as a Hospital Corpsman during the Korean War. His next assignment was Director of the Clinical Laboratory located at the U.S. Naval Submarine Base in Groton (New London), Connecticut.

Following his honorable discharge from the U.S. Navy John attended the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland where he majored in Bacteriology (Microbiology) and received a Bachelor of Science Degree (B.S.). He graduated in 1958 and took at position at N.I.H. (National Institutes of Health) in Bethesda, Maryland to develop a confirmatory test for the diagnosis of Cystic Fibrosis by Immunoelectrophoresis. This later led to the isolation and identification of DNA.

John then became a salesman and eventually was promoted to the National Sales Manager traveling the United States for Lederle Diagnostics located in Pearl River, New York. Upon his retirement in 2003, John became a substitute teacher in Horry County, South Carolina and Brunswick County, North Carolina teaching at the middle and high school levels.

John is the father of John III, residing in The Woodlands, Texas; Kristen McGowan Henley, a schoolteacher at North Myrtle Beach High School in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and living in Little River, South Carolina; Patrick W. McGowan, working in real estate and living in Charleston, South Carolina. He was preceded in death by his son, Barry McGowan.

His grandchildren include Kayla Henley, Cameron Henley and Connor Henley all of Little River, South Carolina and John W. McGowan IV (Jay) and Gavin McGowan, of The Woodlands, Texas.

John will be interred in the family plot, located in Port Jervis, New York.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.leefhandcrematory.com for the McGowan family. Lee Funeral Home and Crematory of Little River/North Myrtle Beach is serving the family.