From National Service to Union Service
Retired Local 21 Illinois member John Martin McGowan, Jr., couldn’t be prouder of his family’s longstanding tradition of service to their Union and their country.
McGowan was encouraged to become a BAC member by his bricklayer father who joined Local 1 Missouri in October 1912 when Andrew Kolley was President and J.C. Fitzmaurice was Financial Secretary. When the family moved to the Chicago area, his father transferred to Local 21 Illinois and went on to become a Gold Card member.
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Local 21 retiree John McGowan, Jr., center, in 1997 with fellow Local 21 members, IU Executive Vice President Ken Lambert, left, and retired IU President John T. Joyce, right. |
Brother McGowan followed in his father’s footsteps, joining Local 21 IL in June 1947, during the administration of President Thomas O’Donnell and Financial Secretary Frank McGinnis. For 18 years, he was employed by Jack Ready Construction mostly on projects located in Chicago’s south side. He attended the 1975 BAC Convention in Atlantic City as one of 30 delegates from Local 21 and described it as “a great experience.” McGowan received his 50-year Gold Card in 1997.
Along with their BAC service, the McGowan family has served their country with great pride. His father was a WWI Army veteran. McGowan served in the Navy during WWII, and his son John, who died in 2007, was an Army veteran of the Korean War.
Brother McGowan was married “for 53 wonderful years” to wife Pearl until her passing in 1997. Their daughter, Kathleen Kozar and her husband Joseph, who is also a member of Local 21, retired earlier this year.
Even at 83, McGowan is still going strong and enjoying his retirement.
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