01/13/09
WEST COLUMBIA — A graveside service for Col. Paul Mertins Gowan, U.S. Army (Ret.), 85, of Laurel Crest, will be held Friday at 11 a.m. in Greenlawn Memorial Park. Visitation will be Thursday, 6-8 p.m. at Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel.Col. Gowan died Sunday, January 11, 2009. Born in Clanton, Ala., he was the son of the late J. Earl and Ruth Johnson Gowan. He attended Birmingham Southern College for his pre-dental degree and received his dental degree (DDS) from Emory University in 1946. He served over thirty years in the U.S. Army, having many stateside assignments and overseas assignments in the Philippines, Korea, Japan, Germany and Vietnam. He retired February 1978 at Fort Jackson.Surviving are sons and daughters-in-law, Earl H. and Shauna Gowan of Rock Hill, Paul M. Gowan Jr. and Caroline Herman of Abu Dhabi, and Karl S. Gowan of West Columbia; grandsons, Timothy Gowan and his wife, Cathy, of Lawton, Okla., Tyler Gowan of Rock Hill, Harrison Gowan of Abu Dhabi; granddaughters, Sidney Gowan and Chrystina Gowan, both of Rock Hill; great-granddaughter, Savannah Gowan of Lawton; and sisters, Ruth Higgins and Sally Speaks, both Clanton, Ala. He was predeceased by his wife, Ellen Shiff Gowan, in 1974.Memorials may be made to Disabled American Veterans, P.O. Box 1430, Cincinnati, OH 45250-0301.Please sign online guest book at www.dunbarfunerals.com.
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