Kenneth A. MacGowan Jr.

Kenneth Arbuthnot MacGowan, Jr. passed away peacefully on February 18, 2019 at the age of 94.  He was instrumental in starting the Church of the Apostles in Fairfax, Virginia and also was the first vicar of the Church of the Word in Gainesville, Virginia. Prior to entering the ministry, he was a lawyer for the Department of the Navy, eventually working directly for Admiral Rickover, the father of the nuclear navy. Ken was born on April 17, 1924 in Quincy, Florida.  During WWII he served as a Technicians’s Mate at the Naval Research Labs in Washington, DC.  He graduated from the University of the South in 1947; from Harvard Law School in 1951; and from Virginia Theological Seminary in 1984.  He married Virginia Pendill MacGowan in 1950; they were married for 64 years until her death in 2014.  He is survived by his four children, Tad MacGowan, Claudia MacGowan Kirk, John Mark MacGowan and Tim MacGowan; and by ten grandchildren, Kathryn, Ginny, Calee, Kyle, Robbie, Kendra, TJ, Laura, Patrick and Benjamin.  He was predeceased by his parents Kenneth and MaryLou MacGowan and by his sister Mimi Hull. 

There will be a memorial service on Saturday, March 9th at 10 AM at the chapel of Goodwin House West at 3440 S. Jefferson St., Falls Church, VA. 

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Kenneth A. MacGowan Jr., please visit our floral store.