Thomas F. McGowan (August 11, 1925 – July 23, 1997) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

who served as a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

from 1966 to 1974. He was later a justice of the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

from 1974 to 1990.

Early life and education

McGowan was born on August 11, 1925, in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, reaching the rank of

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

. He earned a

Bachelor of Social Science The Bachelor of Social Science (BSocSc or BSocSci) is an undergraduate degree. It typically requires three to four years of study in the social sciences at an institution of higher education, primarily found in the Commonwealth of Nations. It c ...

in 1950 and M.Ed. in 1953 from

Canisius College Canisius University is a private Jesuit university in Buffalo, New York. It was founded in 1870 by Jesuits from Germany and is named after St. Peter Canisius. Canisius offers more than 100 undergraduate majors and minors, and around 34 ma ...

. He later earned a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

University of Buffalo Law School The University at Buffalo School of Law (also known as State University of New York at Buffalo Law School, or SUNY Buffalo Law School) is the law school of the University at Buffalo. Founded in 1887, and affiliated with Niagara University until 1 ...

in 1957

Career

From 1947 to 1957, he was an officer in the

Buffalo Police Department The Buffalo Police Department (BPD) is the second-largest city police force in the state of New York (state), New York. In 2012, it had over nine hundred employees, including over seven hundred police officers. The Buffalo Police are headquart ...

. After graduating from law school, he was admitted to the bar and practiced law in Buffalo. He served as assistant D.A. of

Erie County, New York Erie County is a county along the shore of Lake Erie in western New York (state), New York State. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the population was 954,236. However, in the 2023 census, the Erie County population was 946,147 ...

from 1957 to 1967, and entered politics as a Republican. McGowan was a member of the board of supervisors of Erie County from 1962 to 1963 and a member of the

from 1966 to 1974, sitting in the 176th, 177th, 178th, 179th and

180th New York State Legislature The 180th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 3, 1973, to May 30, 1974, during the fifteenth and final year of Nelson Rockefeller's governorship, and during Ma ...

s. In November 1974, he was re-elected, but he resigned his seat upon appointment to the

. In November 1976, he was elected to a 14-year term on the Supreme Court, remaining on the bench until the end of 1990. On September 18, 1991, he was appointed as a Judge of the Buffalo City Court, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Alois Mazur, and remained on the bench until the end of the year.

Personal life

In 1951, he married Dorothy Ann Rowe (1926–2011), and they had six children. McGowan died on July 23, 1997, in the veterans unit of Genesee Memorial Hospital in

Batavia, New York Batavia is a city in and the county seat of Genesee County, New York, United States. It is located near the center of the county, surrounded by the Town of Batavia, which is a separate municipality. Batavia's population, as of the 2020 census, ...

.''JUSTICE THOMAS F. MCGOWAN DIES; HAD LONG PUBLIC CAREER''
from ''

The Buffalo News ''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. On January 29, 2020, th ...

'' on July 24, 1997; at

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He was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGowan, Thomas F. 1925 births 1997 deaths Politicians from Buffalo, New York Republican Party New York (state) state senators Canisius University alumni University at Buffalo Law School alumni New York Supreme Court justices County legislators in New York (state) Burials at Arlington National Cemetery 20th-century New York state court judges Lawyers from Buffalo, New York 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century members of the New York State Legislature