Necrology
Robert Harold McGowan '71
Nov. 2, 1947-Dec. 8, 2020
Robert Harold McGowan ’71 attained success in disparate fields, first working as an archivist, then earning a master’s degree in folklore and publishing a book about the architecture of the Adirondack foothills. Later he went to law school and built a distinguished career in public utility law.
A native of Malone, N.Y., McGowan was born on Nov. 2, 1947, a son of Harold and Genevieve Haskins McGowan. He prepared for college at the Franklin Academy.
A Hamilton history major, he was an excellent student who was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, received the Darling Prize in American History, and for three consecutive years was awarded the Charles Dana Prize Scholarship, which recognizes academic achievement, character, and leadership. Beyond academics, he was a member of the Young Republicans Club, participated in the Utica Tutorial Project, joined Delta Phi fraternity where he was a steward, served as a representative on the Student Senate, was a member of the trustee committee on honorary degrees, and worked as a History Department assistant.
McGowan recalled rising before 7 a.m. on a minus 20-degree day to work the Commons breakfast shift. In a reunion yearbook, he also recounted, “Herbie Long’s course on Greek Literature in Translation — he gave pop quizzes. Once I handed in a completely blank paper — the question rang no bell. His dry comment: ‘Try to do better next time.’”
Throughout his lifetime, McGowan was a generous and faithful supporter of the College. He and his wife, the former Lydia Stolony, established a scholarship to offer opportunities to future generations of students. They also created The College Archives and Special Collections Research Assistant Fund and The McGowan Family Student-Faculty Collaborative Research Fund, in addition to sponsoring the restoration and preservation of many College documents now stored in Burke Library.
At the time of his death, McGowan was a member of his class’ 50th reunion planning committee. His volunteer work for Hamilton also included serving as president of the Hamilton Alumni Association of Baltimore and as a volunteer on behalf of the Hamilton Fund.
McGowan’s first job out of Hamilton was in the manuscripts division of the Library of Congress. From there he earned his master’s degree at Indiana University and published his book, Architecture from the Adirondack Foothills: Folk and Designed Architecture from Franklin County, New York (1977). After a decade working as a cultural historian, archivist, and curator, he entered the University of Maryland School of Law, graduating with honors in 1984. With that, he began his career at the Public Service Commission of Maryland. He served as a public utility law judge until his retirement 34 years later.
In 2009, McGowan revived a project he’d begun in 1968 with William Langlois — an oral history of a logging village south of his hometown of Malone. According to a published obituary, the two of them received a state research grant for the project in 1970 and spent two years documenting the lives of the people who helped build Malone and Franklin County at the turn of the last century. After a hiatus of many years, McGowan and Langlois created a website to share the oral history in 2010, which is now housed in Special Collections at the Feinberg Library, the State University of New York at Plattsburgh.
“Bob had a deep love for and commitment to the residents and history of Northern New York,” his obituary said. McGowan also loved reading, writing, traveling, cooking, walking, and running; at age 70, he took part in a half-marathon. He was a member of several organizations, including the Lions Club, Victorian Society, and the Maryland Conservation Commission.
McGowan, of Glen Burnie, Md., died on Dec. 8, 2020, at age 73. Survivors include his wife and several other relatives.
