John J. McGowan, Sr.

1928 - 2015

(news article) John J. McGowan, Sr., a real estate broker with an expertise in appraisal who served on the Lucas County Plan Commission, died Sept. 2 in the Manor at Perrysburg nursing home. He was 87.

He had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, said his son, John, Jr., and was in declining health, especially since the December death of his wife, Mary.

Active in his business until recent years, the South Toledo resident still had detailed files on flood plain districts and soil samples and traffic density - matters affecting a property's value.

"It's amazing to me all the depth of knowledge in there," his son said. "Dad was a gregarious guy who knew everybody in town. That helped because he could call and get answers to things. But what really distinguished him in my mind was how thorough he was and how curious he was in a profession when sometimes it's easy to be superficial."

Mr. McGowan's clients through the years included Owens Corning, Owens-Illinois Inc., and the Ohio Turnpike Commission. Local appraisers' groups and the board of Realtors called on him to lecture. He also taught at the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University.

"He had a standing-room-only class," said his brother, Jim McGowan. "He was a funny guy. Everyone loved his class."

Mr. McGowan resisted assigning what he believed to be inflated property values during a real-estate bubble before the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s.

"He prided himself on calling them as he saw them, even when that wasn't popular," his son said.

Mr. McGowan was a member of the plan commission from 1969 until 1984, a period of growth in western and southwestern Lucas County.

"It was fascinating because Dad liked development to be orderly and have a logic to it," his son said.

Born Aug. 26, 1928, to Veronica Rose and J. Harry McGowan, he joined the Army after graduating Central Catholic High School. He was in basic training when World War II ended and became part of the occupation force in Japan.

He later received a bachelor's degree in premedicine from UT, but went into real estate with his father and brother.

For a time, in high school and afterward, he and Jim booked big-name bands in Toledo. He also was a hockey announcer for radio station WTOD.

In their youth, he and his brother had been caddies at the Inverness Club for golf luminary Byron Nelson, then the club professional.

At St. Joan of Arc Church, he was an usher and Eucharistic minister.

Mr. McGowan and the former Mary Rose Luetke married on Oct. 17, 1953. She died Dec. 26, 2014.

Surviving are his daughters, Mary Rose McGowan Blaine and Sarah Ellen McGowen; son, John J., Jr.; brother, James H. McGowan, and three grandchildren.

Services will begin at 10 a.m. today in St. Joan of Arc Church, where the body will be after 9 a.m. Arrangements are by the Foth-Dorfmeyer Mortuary.

The family suggests tributes to St. Francis de Sales High School or to Senior Independence Hospice in care of the Ohio Presbyterian Retirement Services Foundation in Columbus.

This is a news story written by Blade Staff Writer Mark Zaborney. Contact him at: mzaborney@theblade.com or 419-724-6182.