GOWANS, William Gregory

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of William Gregory “Greg” Gowans. Greg passed peacefully on Saturday, June 2, 2018 in his home in Harwich Port, MA after a fiercely fought battle with melanoma. 

Born on May 31, 1958 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada to William and Rita Gowans, Greg was the second oldest of six children. He spent his entire childhood and early adult years in The Soo, where he met and married the love of his life, Phyllis (Marshall).

Greg completed a degree in Commerce and International Business with Honours from Queens University in 1980. Phyllis and Greg were married shortly after and then moved to Kitchener, Ontario where their daughter Hannah was born. His passion for his career later on led his family to Simsbury, Connecticut in 1997 and then to The Woodlands, Texas in 2008.

Known as “the expert’s expert” Greg was an active member of Breakbulk Events & Media and a member of the Exporters Competitive Maritime Council, at one point serving as chairman of the organization. Outside of his career, Greg was a supporter of a number of charities. He volunteered at the Star of Hope Mission, an organization that supports homeless adults and children in Houston, and was involved in beneficiary charity review and vetting for an organization that is now part of the United Way of Greater Houston, a body focused on improving lives and community-strengthening. Though extremely passionate for the logistics and expediting industry, family was consistently number one for him. When his foot stepped in the door at the end of the day, work was left outside and family time began. Phyllis and Hannah were first and foremost at all times and Greg was the strong glue that bonded their little family so tightly.

Greg will be forever honored by his girls - wife Phyllis of 38 years, and their daughter Hannah. He will be remembered by his parents William “Bill” and Rita Gowans, and siblings Tim Gowans (Donna), David Gowans, John Gowans (Wendy), Lisa Allaire (John), Jennifer MacDonald (Don), brother-in-law Cecil Marshall (June) and sister-in-law Cathy Fleming. He will be missed by many nieces and nephews, friends and colleagues. 

A funeral mass and celebration of life will be held Saturday, June 16th, 2018 at 11:00 am at Trinity Episcopal Church, 11 Church St., Tariffville, CT 06081. If you would like to contribute to Greg’s legacy please consider donating to Maritime Workers Medical Emergency fund (http://maritimemedicalfund.org/) or The New Danville Community (http://www.newdanville.org/).