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In Memoriam: Honorable William J. Rowan, III ‘57
On behalf of Gonzaga President Father Joseph Lingan, S.J. '75 and the Gonzaga Board of Trustees, we are saddened to share the news of the passing of the Honorable William J. “Bill” Rowan, III ‘57. A current member of the Board of Trustees and a generous participant in this community since he arrived as a student in 1952, Judge Rowan passed away on March 20 at the age of 85.
The son of a Gonzaga graduate, William J. Rowan II ‘25, Bill and his wife, Ann, a longtime teacher at Georgetown Visitation, were the proud parents of three Eagles: William IV ‘81, John ‘82, and Michael ‘87. His grandsons Michael Jr. ‘17 and Thomas '22 represented the fourth generation of Rowans at Gonzaga.
Since his graduation from Gonzaga more than 65 years ago, Judge Rowan gave back to Eye Street in countless ways, serving on the Gonzaga Board of Trustees, as the President of the Alumni Association, and as keynote speaker for Gonzaga’s Commencement Ceremony in 2005 and first Grandparents Day in 2018.
“Throughout his life, Judge Rowan selflessly and generously gave back to his Alma Mater time and time again,” says Father Lingan. “I had the pleasure of getting to know him in recent years as he served on Gonzaga’s Board of Trustees, and like so many, I had great respect and deep admiration for him. His devotion, humor, and booming voice will forever be remembered on Eye Street. On behalf of the entire Gonzaga community, I offer my sincere and heartfelt condolences to his wife, Ann, and the entire Rowan family.”
In addition, Judge Rowan narrated a celebratory video that was shown on the occasion of Gonzaga's Bicentennial Gala at the National Building Museum. To listen to his memorable voice, click here.
Printed below is the full citation that was read when Judge Rowan was awarded the St. Aloysius Medal, Gonzaga’s highest honor, in 2016. The Gonzaga community joins all those who are mourning his passing. May God grant him eternal rest.
The son of a Gonzaga graduate, William J. Rowan II ‘25, Bill and his wife, Ann, a longtime teacher at Georgetown Visitation, were the proud parents of three Eagles: William IV ‘81, John ‘82, and Michael ‘87. His grandsons Michael Jr. ‘17 and Thomas '22 represented the fourth generation of Rowans at Gonzaga.
Since his graduation from Gonzaga more than 65 years ago, Judge Rowan gave back to Eye Street in countless ways, serving on the Gonzaga Board of Trustees, as the President of the Alumni Association, and as keynote speaker for Gonzaga’s Commencement Ceremony in 2005 and first Grandparents Day in 2018.
“Throughout his life, Judge Rowan selflessly and generously gave back to his Alma Mater time and time again,” says Father Lingan. “I had the pleasure of getting to know him in recent years as he served on Gonzaga’s Board of Trustees, and like so many, I had great respect and deep admiration for him. His devotion, humor, and booming voice will forever be remembered on Eye Street. On behalf of the entire Gonzaga community, I offer my sincere and heartfelt condolences to his wife, Ann, and the entire Rowan family.”
In addition, Judge Rowan narrated a celebratory video that was shown on the occasion of Gonzaga's Bicentennial Gala at the National Building Museum. To listen to his memorable voice, click here.
Printed below is the full citation that was read when Judge Rowan was awarded the St. Aloysius Medal, Gonzaga’s highest honor, in 2016. The Gonzaga community joins all those who are mourning his passing. May God grant him eternal rest.
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In 2005, Gonzaga’s President Father Allen Novotny asked Bill Rowan to deliver the Kohlmann Address at the Commencement Exercises in the Great Church of St. Aloysius. By all commencement speaker criteria, Bill made for an excellent choice.
First, he possessed all the gravitas that came with a stellar legal career, including thirty-six years as trial attorney and then as Associate Judge of the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court of Maryland. Regarded by legal colleagues as THE best trial lawyer in Montgomery County, he was especially revered for being a mentor to countless lawyers, sharing with them how best to practice law, how to be part of a community, and how to be a friend. As a judge, he was known for his total respect and kindness for others.
Secondly, and apropos to that graduation day, Bill could make a connection with the graduates and parents by sharing his own Eye Street experience. His father William J. Rowan, II had been a member of the Class of ’25 and Bill himself was a class leader for the Class of 1957, one of Gonzaga’s most accomplished and loyal alumni classes. Added to that, he had been honored twice by the Gonzaga Alumni Association. In 1991 he was inducted into the Alumni Association Athletic Hall of Fame. In 1999, he was named the Alumni Association’s Man of the Year for outstanding achievement and exemplification of Gonzaga training in his life.
But good commencement speakers require more than simply impressive resumes. They need to be able to deliver a good message. And they need to speak so they can be heard. Father Novotny knew that no one has ever had a problem hearing Bill Rowan.
You see, Bill has this Booming gruff voice that comes at you like a bulldozer plowing down your street - in a thunderstorm. It’s a voice that during his student days on Eye Street roared above all others at pep rallies - especially those leading up to the annual showdown against St. John’s - and when he was a young lawyer that voice could be so intimidating in Montgomery County courtrooms that his law partners pleaded with him to back away from the jury box - because he was scaring all the jurors.
And of course, Bill Rowan did not disappoint Father Novotny or any of those assembled in St. Al’s that day. He began his speech by rhetorically asking the parents, “Why did you send your son down here to this pile of bricks on 19 Eye Street?”
And though he would never suggest it, the answer can be found in his own story.
He arrived on Eye Street as a Freshman in the fall of 1952 and was immediately informed by the legendary Coach Joe Kozik that he was nothing but a “Hot Dog from Chevy Chase.” Hot Dog or not, over the next four years Bill would excel academically and athletically as he took advantage of just about everything a Gonzaga education had to offer. He performed in the school plays, was a member of the speech and debate team, played football and basketball and was elected all four years to on the Student Council. He attended the University of Detroit on a full scholarship for football, after which he attended Georgetown Law School. He passed the Maryland Bar in 1964 and the District of Columbia Bar in 1965.
Indeed, his is an impressive chronology of accomplishments and events, and yet his family would insist inclusion of that day way back in the 1940’s when Ed and Marguerite Cotter decided to move from St. Gabriel’s Parish to Blessed Sacrament and enroll their daughter, Ann, in the 4th grade class. By all accounts, the new girl in class was utterly distracting to one young Billy Rowan. Bill and Ann have been married for 54 years. They are the parents of three Gonzaga graduates, William IV ’81, Patrick ’82 and Michael ’87, and the grandparents of a fourth generation Gonzaga Rowan, Michael Jr., Class of 2017. And of course Grandad has attended most every football game and rugby match Mike Jr. has played.
Indeed, his is an impressive chronology of accomplishments and events, and yet his family would insist inclusion of that day way back in the 1940’s when Ed and Marguerite Cotter decided to move from St. Gabriel’s Parish to Blessed Sacrament and enroll their daughter, Ann, in the 4th grade class. By all accounts, the new girl in class was utterly distracting to one young Billy Rowan. Bill and Ann have been married for 54 years. They are the parents of three Gonzaga graduates, William IV ’81, Patrick ’82 and Michael ’87, and the grandparents of a fourth generation Gonzaga Rowan, Michael Jr., Class of 2017. And of course Grandad has attended most every football game and rugby match Mike Jr. has played.
The truth is, even over the course of almost sixty years since his own graduation, Bill Rowan has never strayed far from Eye Street. Time and time again, he has responded to Alma Mater’s call.
He served as President of the Alumni Association.
He was a member of the President’s Committee which advised on Gonzaga’s first-ever comprehensive capital campaign, The Greater Glory.
As a leader of the esteemed Class of 1957, he has down through the years helped organize numerous reunions, social gatherings and fundraising efforts. Just a few years ago, he and his classmates quietly raised funds to so that the stage in the renovated Sheehy Theater would be named in honor of their classmate and friend, Dr. John Warman.
He served as Master of Ceremonies at the very first St. Aloysius Dinner in 1995 - and thankfully did not frighten away any of the school’s benefactors.
In 1990, the Gonzaga Alumni Association published a collection of stories entitled “Gonzaga Memories”. The collection included a memoir by then President Father Bernie Dooley, S.J., highlighting the most significant events and people he’d experienced during his years on Eye Street. He entitled his piece The Greening of Gonzaga.
Wrote Father Dooley, “In the fall of 1980, Bill Rowan ’57 said we should honor Coach Kozik and he took the leadership, creating a classy celebration for the Coach. It was held at the Shoreham Americana with 850 alumni and friends singing and swaying in honor of Joe. It was a great celebration of Gonzaga—it’s enduring spirit, its triumph over odds, its resurrection, its new greening.”
Wrote Father Dooley, “In the fall of 1980, Bill Rowan ’57 said we should honor Coach Kozik and he took the leadership, creating a classy celebration for the Coach. It was held at the Shoreham Americana with 850 alumni and friends singing and swaying in honor of Joe. It was a great celebration of Gonzaga—it’s enduring spirit, its triumph over odds, its resurrection, its new greening.”
To make his point to those Class of 2005 graduates on how their Gonzaga educations had prepared them to face the challenges of the world, Bill shared stories of Gonzaga men from his own generation. Included were tales of uncommon faith and sacrifice, courage, gratitude and service to others. In summation, Bill said, “The few stories that I have told are but brief reminders of the same lesson: This is your heritage. This is where you come from. This is who you are. This is who you are to be.”
In 1952 a fourteen year old boy fell in love with a pile of bricks on Eye Street. He fell in love because it was there that he was taught to be:
Open to growth
Intellectually competent
Religious
Loving and
Committed to doing Justice
Bill, Gonzaga knows where you come from. Gonzaga knows who you are: And tonight, it is with deep gratitude that Gonzaga bestows upon you its St. Aloysius Medal for Service to School and Community.
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