Brian Scott Gow June 21, 1962 – January 5, 2019. Brian Scott Gow passed away January 5 in the home of his long-time family friends, Joni and Oliver Gibson, after a lengthy illness. Scott is the son of predeceased parents, Martha E. Gow and Luther E. Gow. Scott attended Heim Elementary, Peralta Junior High, and Villa Park High School in the Orange Unified School District where he graduated in 1981. While there, he took up an interest in photography. He explored his hobby further at Orange Coast College where he briefly majored in photo journalism. After two years, he transferred to California Polytechnic University, Pomona, the same school his father attended. Scott refocused his energies on a more practical academic path and selected Operations Management offered by the School of Business. While at Cal Poly, he pledged the business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi. While a brother he solidified many long-lasting friendships that he kept all his life. He graduated in 1988.
The job market was tight back then, and after a few months of searching, Scott landed a job at Rockwell International Space Division in the City of Downey, home of the space shuttle. He began his career in Manufacturing Systems supporting the shop floor with their data needs. In 1990, he took a position in Industrial Engineering. This suited his interests much more and he enjoyed helping people implement more efficient operations.
Over time, Scott also took on additional responsibilities that included site relocations and technology infrastructure updates. Then, in 1996, Boeing announced it was acquiring Rockwell’s defense and aerospace operations. For the next five years Scott was very busy supporting plans to consolidate operations around Boeing’s Southern California facilities, including Long Beach, Huntington Beach, Seal Beach, El Segundo, Downey, Anaheim, and Palmdale. Consolidations eventually lead to lay-offs, and Scott was laid off from Boeing, so he took some time for himself to enjoy some mid-life freedom from the daily grind. Around this time, he purchased a vacation home in Lake Havasu, where he and his mom spent a lot of time. He also bought a motor home and went camping all around Arizona, Nevada, and California.
Responsibilities eventually caught up with him, and Scott decided to seek employment as a substitute teacher. He was looking forward to this new chapter in his life since his mother was a teacher, too. Being a substitute teacher was not easy, and he soon found himself wanting to return to aerospace. In 2007, Scott was offered a position back at Boeing supporting the C-17 sustainment program scheduling the work performed on the aircraft for the Air Force. This was a great fit for him since part of what he learned at Cal Poly was scheduling. This was exactly the type of work he had wanted to do since graduating from college, and he was able to perform it through 2018.
Outside school and work, Scott made time to enjoy life. Early on, he joined the Boy Scouts of America. He started as a Cub Scout and continued in the program throughout his youth until he aged out at 18. He earned the highest achievement in Boy Scouts, the rank of Eagle, which was very important to him. Only five percent of Boy Scouts are granted this rank after a lengthy review process. Furthermore, while he was a scout, Scott was elected into the service organization Order of the Arrow (OA). As an adult, he continued in OA for many years. He eventually achieved Vigil, which is the highest honor that the order can bestow upon its members for service to lodge, council, and Scouting. Order of the Arrow also tied in his love for the West, Indian culture, and the desert.
Later in life Scott joined the Elks, partly as a nod to his father, who was also a member. While there, he was able to connect again to scouting by fulfilling several roles, including Scoutmaster, to the lodge’s Boy Scout troop. If you knew Scott, you knew he loved scouting, as it permeated aspects of his entire life.
Finally, Scott was a member of The Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus (the Clampers), a fraternal organization dedicated to the preservation of the heritage of the American west, especially the history of the Mother Lode and gold mining regions of the area.
As an only child, Scott adopted dear friends as his siblings. He considered the Gibson family in Temecula as family, and they served as his caregivers as his health declined the past several years. Joni Gibson, a childhood friend, her husband Oliver, and two of their daughters Madison Parks (and her husband Jake) and Devon Gibson also considered Scott as family. They treasured all the fun times with Scott and their travels together through the years. One of the favorite memories of childhood Joni and Scott shared was making shell jewelry at Crystal Cove and selling it to beach goers to have money to go up to the Date Shake Shack on PCH.
Scott also enjoyed spending time with his family in San Diego. He looked forward to sharing his adventures and listening to his nieces’ and nephews’ latest experiences. He was a kid at heart, and never tired of quality time with his family; it was his joy. He connected with people, and shared himself and his thoughts effortlessly. His way of engaging with others allowed for conversations that were not typical, but rather, compelling. He was an exceptional friend and a joyous soul, an optimist mixed with Eagle Scout smarts. Fueled by passion for people, he shared his deep knowledge of just about everything. He delighted when he could share his adventures. Scott was a fan of the San Diego Chargers and he looked forward to spending game time with cousin Ricky year after year in the family season seats. He was loud, fun, and infectious. Everyone in his section at the stadium loved to be a part of his team spirit. Scott was an old soul and he loved sharing the history of his family.Telling stories of the places he had been and people he had met was a specialty; his family history was second nature to him, sharing details of the family ancestry intimately. Passing on information inherited from his parents, grandparents, and great grandparents was part of his legacy. Time with Scott was pure and a joy. We loved him and his memory will be cherished by all who knew him.
Scott met his lifelong friend, Eric King, in second grade at Heim Elementary. From then on, they were inseparable.They went on to attend the same junior high and high schools.Their ideal summer vacations were times spent in Scott’s garage building airplane models and taking pictures, then developing them in his dark room.They both attended different community colleges, but came together again at Cal Poly Pomona where they both majored in Operations Management and they joined the same fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi. They both were in the same cub scout pack, boy scout troop, and both were elected into the OA and became Eagle Scouts at the same time. Later, they both joined Fire Explorers for a short time, but left that for Aviation Explorers. They both worked for Rockwell and Boeing on the shuttle program. Scott was Eric’s and his wife Sheila’s best man at their wedding, too. Scott has been a part of the King family since the beginning, and Scott considered Ryan and Lauren (Eric and Sheila’s children) as his niece and nephew. Later, Scott’s and Eric’s careers took different paths and eventually Eric was asked to relocate to St Louis. It was difficult decision, and leaving his best friend behind left an unfilled void. Fortunately, Scott was able to visit a couple times and was able to join Eric and Ryan at BSA summer camp in 2016. Since both Eric and Scott were Eagle Scouts, Scott encouraged Ryan to work towards his Eagle rank as well. Scott was so proud when Ryan earned his Eagle on January 2, 2019 and was able to tell him on the phone on January 4th, “I’m just like you now, Uncle Scott.”
Scott is survived by his Uncle Robert & Aunt Penny Faucett and their children, Leslie Walsh (Timothy) and Erik Faucett (Aimee). He is also survived by his Aunt Geraldine Faucett and her children, Dean Faucett (Eve), Rick Faucett (Jennifer), Todd Faucett (Tonya), and Kelly Bitter (Mike). Scott was a proud Uncle to more than a dozen second cousins and endless friends in every circle he encountered, and he will be remembered by all. Scott was uncomplicated. He didn’t much care for formality. In fact, he tried to avoid it. His favorite pastime was simple: find a comfortable seat, a good drink, and a friendly person to have conversation with.
Donations may be made in Brian Scott Gow’s name to the Boy Scouts of America - Orange County Council at www.ocbsa.org/fos2017.
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