Jack McGowan

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McGowan, Jack Woodworking artist and proprietor of McGowan Cabinet Company, known for 70 years as "The Last of the Old School Craftsmen," died peacefully on May 5, 2018, age 93, surrounded by his loving family. Jack began his woodworking in 1936 at age eleven on a lathe in the basement of the family home. During WWII he served in the Navy, with honorable discharge, and then as machinist, at Honeywell and A.O. Smith arms production facilities in Minneapolis. In 1947 Jack established McGowan Cabinet Co. in Forest Lake, MN, as the first business in the region to specialize in custom cabinetry. Within twenty years his mechanical inventiveness created a variety of specialty wood products including oval and circle picture frames and straight and curved wood moldings. On June 11, 1952 he married his love, Eleanore Mary Osterbauer, eloping to Wisconsin, and two baby boys soon followed. Jack never retired and actively operated McGowan Cabinet Co. until his death, becoming the longest practicing professional wood turner on earth. He turned over a million wooden oval picture frames, and produced decorative moldings enough to circle the earth many times. With ceaseless passion for fine craftsmanship, Jack worked every spare hour honing his chisels and his craft, carving and turning in his shops at home, after working daily at the business. Additional interests included early American furniture and Scandinavian folk arts of which he produced a rich variety, including trunks, woodenware, and hundreds of carved figures. Norwegian style ale bowls turned by Jack are preferred by many rosemaling artists for their fine detail, with many exhibited at, or in the collection of, Vesterheim Norwegian American Museum, the American Swedish Institute and other venues. Jack collaborated on many artistic projects with renowned woodcarvers Chris Steiner, Ulrich Steiner, Jr., Charles Jahn, Hans Sandom, Jock Holmen and, notably, Leif J. Melgaard, who inspired Jack with great interest in Norwegian woodcraft, history and language. Jack also admired and collaborated with many of the nation's finest rosemaling artists, particularly the circle of Vesterheim Gold Medalists, often exchanging turned bowls or other items of woodcraft for painting. He is preceded in death by his parents, mother, Rose Emma (Rubis, McGowan) Pederson (1903 1980); father, Dean C. McGowan (1902 1931); step-father, Idor A. Pederson (1900 1998); guiding grandparents John and Jennie Mae McGowan (1870 1961, 1877 1959); brother, Richard Dean McGowan (1927 1992); and sisters, Maxine Carver (1932 1973) and Joyce McShane (1926 2015). He is survived by wife, Eleanore (Osterbauer) McGowan; children, Max (Lynette) and Perry (Sheila); half-sister, Janet (David) Wiley. Jack has been fortunate and grateful for the exceptional competence and commitment of his longtime employees and business associates Rita Landgraver, Daniel Trippler, Lynn Bergeson, Norton Rockler, and Ann Rockler Jackson, and, most especially, the unfailing love, dedication, admiration, and support of his wife Eleanore. McGowan Cabinet Co is proud of its 70-year heritage and remains in business in Forest Lake, MN. A gathering for family and friends will be from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m. with a time of sharing beginning at 7:30 p.m., on Tuesday, May 15, 2018 at Mattson Funeral Home, 343 North Shore Drive, Forest Lake, MN. Memorials in lieu of flowers to Lakes Area Woodcarvers, 20109 Harrow Av N, Forest Lake or Vesterheim Museum (vesterheim.org). Mattson Funeral Home 651-464-3556 mattsonfuneralhome.com

Published on May 9, 2018