Gerard (Jerry) E. McGowan, Jr. , husband of Beverly (Harder) McGowan and stepfather to Crystal Flynn, passed peacefully at his home on July 1 in Alberton, Montana after a long illness. His effusive presence and charisma drew people to him. It was said that he gave the best hugs that completely swallowed you up and that you felt as though it was his heart rather than his arms that was being wrapped around your shoulders.  His mother called him the Pied Piper. Others knew him as a Renaissance man, the giant or “G” and he was later named Wolf Heart in sweat lodge ceremony by Ed McGaa, Eagle Man, of the Oglala Sioux Nation.  He overcame childhood asthma to become a naturally gifted athlete in high school. He was in the 1st graduating class of Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood, Massachusetts, where he played linebacker for the football team and threw shot put for the track team.  He won countless trophies and medals. He continued training off-season and in his free time, developing his body and speed. He caught the eye of the college recruiters and won a scholarship to play football at Wake Forest University. He was a starter on the first and until recently, the only Wake Forest football team to win an ACC championship. His coach recently remembered Jerry as a very intelligent and dedicated player.  “He was a very remarkable young man with an amazing mind.  He always wanted to know why,” coach Tate said.  Jerry received his degree from Suffolk University in Boston. Jerry was a self-taught and gifted musician, singer and song-writer who had a natural talent for entertaining.  His parents bought him his first guitar at age 13 and his older brother taught him his first three chords on that guitar which allowed him to play almost any Beatles’ song of the day.  He played guitar and sang in local bands for area high school dances.  One such band was called “The Unknowns” and always thinking of the less fortunate, Jerry arranged for them to hold some their practice sessions at a Boston area school for the severely retarded.  He played at open-mic opportunities around Missoula and at the annual Dead Grass Festival in Nine Mile.  Jerry sat down at a piano in a hotel lobby one day thirty-some years after having had only one piano lesson in childhood and started playing as though he were accomplished at the instrument.  Soon afterwards he went out to a local music store that was having a piano sale. The salesman asked Jerry how much he was willing to put as a down payment.  Jerry reached into his pocket and handed the salesman $14. 00 in change, all the cash he had at the time, and walked out of the store as the proud owner of his first piano.    Jerry left his east coast life in his late 40’s and moved with his wife, Beverly, to Montana.  His first album recorded in Montana reflected his love of the raw beauty of the state and the people who were drawn to live there. His song “Montana”, written just 3 months after moving to Montana, was considered for recognition as the state’s official love song by the Montana legislature in 2001.   Wherever you went with Jerry he was recognized and greeted with warm smiles, hugs and friendly pats on the shoulder. It seemed like he knew everyone in Missoula within 6 months of moving there and everyone was happy to see his smile and light coming towards them. If he had not yet made your acquaintance, he graciously acknowledged you and got to know you. He made people feel that they were important and mattered.  He applauded their achievements, no matter how small they were or what their station was in life. He encouraged them to continue pursuing the passion and joy that was their unique gift and share it with the world. Jerry was a visionary and entrepreneur, looking for opportunities to collaborate and take risks to make ideas come to life. He developed a reputation for being reliable and as a hard worker early on in his life.  He was most comfortable being his own boss and it was inspiring to watch his ideas and passions manifest in the world.  In his early years in Montana he built a faux painting and restoration business which he called “It’s All by Design”.  Many opportunities came his way around Western Montana as his artistic talents and reputation for excellence grew.  He added his skill and talent to many public and private projects and Its All by Design was awarded the 2001 Montana Historic Restoration Award of The Year for the restoration of the ceiling of the St. Francis Church in Missoula which had been altered during WWII.    It was in high school that Jerry began a lifelong commitment to physical fitness.  He was passionately committed to helping others see how exercise and diet could improve their mental and physical condition.  He partnered with an award-winning body builder developing and patenting a lifting technology to enhance the effectiveness of resistance training.  He built a business around this technology which is used by professional athletes, coaches and trainers as well as fitness enthusiasts around the world.  Jerry also introduced the technology to the medical world.  It was granted durable medical equipment status and is used by physical therapists, chiropractors and sports medicine professionals to rehabilitate injuries and allow those with physical limitations to engage in effective fitness training.  The world will miss his ingenuity, passion, talent and out-of-the-box thinking and approach to living. Jerry was the son of the late Gerard E. and Joan (Adler) McGowan, Sr. of Dedham, MA. He was brother to Thomas and his wife Sarah Stone of Tucson, AZ; Mary Sullivan and her husband Paul of Sebastian, FL and Charlottesville, VA; Steven and his wife Judy of Sebastian, Fl and Charlottesville, VA; Richard and his wife Barbara of Dedham, MA; and to the late Robert McGowan and his widow Diane of Lansing, MI.  Jerry was son-in-law to the late Henry and Thelma Harder of Spokane, WA; brother-in-law to Barbara Harder-Lyons and husband Charles of Spokane, WA; and Connie Harder-Luth and husband John of Woodinville, WA. Jerry was uncle to sixteen, and loyal friend to all who knew him.   Please send charitable donations in memory of Jerry to: Shriner’s Hospital for Children – Spokane 911 West 5th Avenue Spokane, WA  99204 509. 455. 7844 (Indicate in memory of Jerry or Gerard McGowan on your donation. )  Please join us for a celebration of Jerry’s life via an interactive zoom call on Sunday, September 11, 2022. The call will start at 2 pm Mountain and 4 pm Eastern Time. Connect a few minutes early at Zoom. com or by using the Zoom App. Access is given by putting in the following meeting id once you click to “join a meeting”:   161 0892 4011 (no pass code is required).    Arrangements have been cared for by Just Cremation Montana.

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Gerard "Jerry" McGowan, Jr. Obituary | Just Cremation