Died August 27, 1994
College: Saybrook
Widow: Mrs. Allison Steen McGowan
8026 East Krall Street
Scottsdale, AZ 85250
mmm13mmm@aol.com
Children: Mary, 1962; Daniel, 1966
David (known as Magoo) moved from Yale and the Dramat in 1961 to Summer Theater in Matunuk, Rhode Island, relying on his expertise in lighting to take them from tragedy to “The Boyfriend.” After Summer Theater, it was on to the Charles Playhouse in Boston as the lighting director. In December 1961, David married Alison Steen in Santa Fe with classmates Dan Drobnis and Ed Kitch standing in as groomsmen. Then it was back to Boston to illuminate plays and musicals.
The good times ended when the U.S. Army draft came calling – and yet electrics still played a part. David manned a radar for Raytheon’s Hawk Missiles watching the Demilitarized Zone in South Korea. David also received a Letter of Commendation for rescuing a fellow soldier who was teetering on a snow covered canyon wall.
After Discharge from the army, David moved his expanding family (Mary was born in 1962 and Daniel arrived in 1965) to Boston where he joined Honeywell I.S., working on computers. His outgoing personality then led him to the Human Relations department. In 1976, after ten years with Honeywell, David was grabbed by a “headhunter” to work in Human Relations in Saudi Arabia for the Whitaker Corporation. This new position involved staffing three Saudi Air Force hospitals with all necessary employees from doctors and nurses to bus drivers. David and his family relished the time in Saudi as it permitted extensive travel to Kenya, Iran, Egypt, and Jordan. Their time abroad was cut short in 1978 when David’s father was diagnosed with cancer.
Back in Boston meant a new start, a new house, and a new position. David happily nabbed a human relations job for LTX, an electronic test equipment company. He was excited by the new ideas and concepts within the industry, and in 1984 was transferred to Arizona where he was able to sell the equipment and enjoy permanent golfing. After LTX, he was able to do some “headhunting” himself. Working for Personnel Resource Corporation, he found his niche in looking for computer savvy personnel for growing technological companies.
David lived in Arizona for ten years, learning that even the most extreme heat can be tolerated with ample air conditioning.
He lost a short battle with cancer in August, 1994.
—by Alison McGowan and Mary McGowan, fall 2010.