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Obituary Notice

November 7, 2010 By Ben Sclair

Donald Bradford MacGowan

Donnie Bradford MacGowan died suddenly of cardiac arrest October 31, 2010 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, where he had lived a number of years. Born March 4, 1956, in Burlingame, CA, and grew up in Lakewood, WA, graduating from Clover Park High School. He earned Bachelor’s degrees at University of Washington, dual Masters in Geosciences and Chemistry at Idaho State, and a Doctorate in Geosciences at University of Wyoming. At 16, in an essay contest on merchant shipping, he won a summer on a tramp freighter in the Pacific. He was an Eagle Scout, and member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity as well as many scientific societies. Donnie spent years researching the movement of fluids through rocks and authored or co-authored over two hundred abstracts, scientific papers, and monographs (Google “Donald B. MacGowan”). Recently he was writing and filming travel guides to his beloved Hawaii and writing, scoring and producing programs for public television. He toured and recorded with a Celtic Punk band. He loved the outdoors: rock and ice climbing, skiing, hot lava, beaches and water sports, hiking and camping. His camera was always handy. In spite of his accomplishments, Donnie took himself with a grain of salt, describing himself as a “beloved television personality, staggering scientific genius, and world class climbing bum” — only a slight exaggeration. Survivors include son Bradford T. MacGowan of Salt Lake City, UT; parents, Brad and Liz MacGowan of Lakewood WA; sister and brother-in-law, Laurie and Jim Maus of Lakewood; three nieces, Amanda Stephen (Paul) of Seattle, WA, Elizabeth Fuller (Trevor) of Tacoma, WA; and Amy Maus of Lakewood; and his beloved fiancé Lora Aller of BC, Canada and her children. Donnie was smart, funny, happy, intensely loyal and optimistic. He will be acutely missed by his large extended family, and a host of close friends. Memorial gatherings will be held in Kailua-Kona, HI, and Lakewood, WA at dates to be announced. Memorial gifts in lieu of flowers should be sent to The American Heart Association or the National Park Foundation.

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