Deceased October 19, 2008
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In Memory
It is with great sadness that I tell you of the passing of Laurence Chapin Gower. He died on Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008, in the Philip Hulitar Hospice Center in Providence, R.I., from lung cancer. He spent his last three years in Pascoag, R.I., and had lived in Rhode Island all his life. Larry started out in our class, attending for four years, but did not finish at Amherst. He ultimately got his degree from New England College in Henniker, N.H., with the Class of 1968. It was tough keeping up with “The Gowse” after we all left in the spring of ’66, although we were able to touch base occasionally into the early ’70s. He came over to a reunion a few years back, and we did get a chance to get caught up. I met his new wife, Jean, then. I had gotten to know his first wife, Diana, back when they were first married. He had four sons and six grandchildren.
Larry served in the U.S. Army National Guard, 211th Artillery during the Vietnam War. His funeral was held with full military honors. He worked for various businesses over the course of his career including manufacturing, advertising and property management, retiring in 2007.
Larry was an honest, decent man and a good friend. He was also a brother in Psi U. Music was important to him. In later years, he was active in musical ministries in several churches in his area. And it is through music that I will always remember him. Larry was the leader of our band, Moby Dick and the Seamen, which we formed with Dick Klein ’66 in the winter of ’62-’63. Larry got the jobs for us, did the business end of things, played keyboard and did backup vocals. Those were good times.
Dusty Dowse ’66