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Who Am I?
My name is Edward Gowan, better known as Ed. I am the 8th (eighth) child of 11 (eleven) born
to Junior and Loretta Gowan of Olean ,N.Y.
Olean is a small city 70 miles southwest of Buffalo, N.Y. and six miles
from the Penn. line. Olean is probably best known for St. Bonaventure University and its close proximity to Alleghany State
Park. Summers growing up I attended and later worked at St Vincent de Paul Health Camp in Angola, N.Y. In Dec. 1964 I left
Olean to Join the U. S. Navy and see the world. I attended Boot Camp at Great Lakes, Illinois company 567. After boot camp
I was sent to Fleet Sonar school in Key West, Fl. but discovered my destiny lay in another field. Soon I was mess cooking
on the U. S. S. Bennington out of Long Beach, Ca. The galley proved to be my home away from home for many years to come. The
Bennington was an aircraft carrier and a city in and of itself.
In July of 1966 while on leave, I returned to Olean
and St. Vincent de Paul Health Camp to visit family and friends. While on my visit to camp I asked a friend about a girl I
saw there. To my surprise he told me she was the camp nurse. That camp nurse, Lynn Lorang of Tonawanda, N.Y., has been my
wife and best friend for over 40 years. We were married in Nov. 1967 and returned to Long Beach, Ca to set up housekeeping.
Our daughter, Theresa, was born there at St. Marys Hospital in April of 1968 a few short weeks before I deployed on a nine
month cruise.
In Feb 1969 my enlistment ended. We left sunny Ca. and returned to N. Y. I took a job at the Dunlop
Tire Plant in Tonawanda, N. Y. and stayed there for 8 months. Lynn was expecting our second child and economics being what
they were and my dissatisfaction with the civilian job market lead us back to the Navy. In Nov of 1969 I joined the crew of
the U. S. S. Warrington DD843, a destroyer out of Newport, R. I. Soon after we arrived, the Ship deployed for a six month
Mediterranean cruise. While I was gone, in Jan. 1970, our son Sean was born. In May of 1971 our daughter, Jennifer, was born
and completed our family. There were several more cruises on the Warrington. In the summer of 1972 I was sent to San Diego,
Ca for school. While I was there the Warrington was again on a West Pac cruise and hit a mine in the Gulf of Tonkin. This
hit caused the ship to be decommissioned. On my return to Newport I was assigned to the U. S. S. Nitro, an ammunition ship
out of Davisville, R. I. that was on station in the Tonkin Gulf.
Sept of 1973 found us returning to the Buffalo area
where I was assigned to recruiting duty. I worked in the downtown Buffalo office and the South Park office. While in Buffalo
I achieved the rank of Chief Petty Officer. During our time in that area we made many true and lasting friends. We went on
camping trips, joined bowling leagues and weathered the blizzard of 77, which found me snowed out of the house for a week
and Lynn and the three kids snowed in. As if by means of a reward for surviving that winter in Oct. of 1977 we were transferred
to Jacksonville, Fl.
Knowing a fellow recruiter from the Buffalo area was also stationed on the U. S. S. Manley DD940,
we decided to stay with him and his wife for a few weeks until we could get settled. They lived in Deland, Fl. which is 110
miles southwest of Jacksonville. Why that far from work you might ask, well my friends wife was also in the Navy and was stationed
in Orlando so they split the commute. Looking forward a few years toward retirement Deland looked like a good place to spend
the rest of our lives. Lynn and I had a house built and moved in about a week before I deployed on yet another six month cruise;
this time to the Mediterranean Sea.
I got to know the ports of call in Italy, Spain, Northern Africa, England, the Greek Isles and points in between
over the next 3 years. Just because everything seemed to be going right and we appeared settled; the navy transferred me back
to Naval Recruiting District Buffalo, N. Y. in Oct 1980.
I spent the next 18 months encouraging the fine young men
and women of Cheektowaga, Lancaster and Depew to embark on an adventure that only the Navy could offer. Lynn and I rekindled
old friendships and started new ones. The winters were fierce with their ice and snow. Theresa broke her ankle while walking
home from school but all in all the kids did well. Fortunately, we had good neighbors in Fl. who kept an eye on the house
there - we had rented it to 4 single young men. I understand they upheld the reputation of the house being a real party place.
Our Fl. neighbors got to come up for a vacation and saw their first snow.
May 1982 found me at Naval Air Station Jacksonville,
Fl as a bachelor enlisted quarters supervisor. Again the long commutes to Deland from Jacksonville required more than time
and miles. It meant nights away from home even though I didnt have duty or getting up at 0430 to leave so I could be on the
job by 0700. At least I didnt have to do that drive in snow.
Jan 1984 - Assignment U. S. S. Talbot FFG4, stationed
in Mayport, Fl. This ship loved to sail. We saw the West Coast of Africa, the Panama Canal, South America - all of it or at
least most of it. I spent my last 2 active duty years aboard the Talbot. My retirement ceremony was attended by bus loads
of family and friends from Deland and across the country. It is a day none of us will ever forget because it was also the
day the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded after launch.
I spent the next eight months being retired. Then in Aug 1986
I began my second career, also in food service. For the past 22 plus years I have been a Food Service Manager at Stetson
University here in Deland. The Management Company I now work for is Sodexho Services USA.
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