Derek J. N. McGowan

Derek J. N. McGowan, age 76, of Parkers Prairie, passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on Friday, August 15, 2025, at his home.

A celebration of life service will be held at 12 p.m. (6 p.m. United Kingdom time), Wednesday, August 27, 2025, at Lind Family Funeral Home in Alexandria with Pastor Dan Johnson and Pastor Jeff Pankratz officiating. Private family interment will be held. A livestream of Derek’s service will be available on his obituary page on the funeral home website. Per the family’s request, bright, casual attire is encouraged.

Visitation is 5-7 p.m., Tuesday, August 26th, at Lind Family Funeral Home in Alexandria and will continue one hour prior to the service at the funeral home.

Derek John Nanscawan McGowan was born on July 3, 1949, to Henry and Louisa (Broad) McGowan in Hillingdon, London, England. He attended St. Martin’s Senior School in Yiewsley, Middlesex, London. Derek’s life was forever changed when he met Jesus, and at 21, he was baptized at Guildford Baptist Church in Guildford. He served in the Merchant Navy as an Engineering Officer, completing a four-year Officer Cadetship from 1965 until 1971. Derek then earned a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Surrey in 1974. He was united in marriage to Gillian “Gillie” Cross on April 7, 1973, at Southstoke Evangelical Church in Bath, England, and together they were blessed with three children. In 1976, Derek joined the Institute of Marine Engineers and went on to earn his Chartered Engineer designation in 1978.

Derek’s career as a mechanical engineer spanned more than three decades and took him around the world, with work in surveying ships, refinery operations, and subsea engineering across London, the Middle East, Africa, and the North Sea. In 1989, he and his family moved to Anchorage, Alaska, where he held senior engineering and management roles with BP and Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. From 1997 to 2001, he worked directly for Alyeska Pipeline, managing the “2000” pipeline conversion on the North Slope before retiring and moving to Minnesota to try his hand in farming. In 2003, he returned to Alaska as a consultant, splitting his time between Alaska and Minnesota until his second retirement in 2008.

Outside of work, Derek enjoyed reading, hill walking, music, and researching history, especially World War II, where his father had served in Burma. He also loved traveling, with a special fondness for his journeys to Israel. Also, member of Lake Community Church, Derek’s quiet but steady faith was an important part of who he was and shaped the way he lived his life. Overall, time spent with his family and loved ones was most important to him.

He was preceded in death by his parents; brother James Henry David McGowan; and brother-in-law Steven Alfred Bowden.

Derek is survived by his wife of 52 years, Gillie; three children, Natasha McGowan of Miltona, Reuben (Laura) McGowan of Moorhead, and Susannah (Aaron) Miller of Anchorage, Alaska; grandchildren, Ashlee (Mason) Reyher of Great Falls, Montana, Rachel Miller of Anchorage, Alaska, and Isaiah McGowan of Moorhead; great-granddaughter, Maggie Elizabeth Reyher of Great Falls, Montana; sisters in England, Lesley (Paul) Coppin and Dierdre Bowden; sister-in-law, Jacqui Thwaits; “adopted” daughter, Abigail Handy; nieces and nephews, Steven (Jessica) Warren, Paul Warren, Claire Bowden (Neil Gates), Mathew (Malise) Bowden, Robert Bowden (Kenny Parker), Nathaniel (Jessica) Thwaites-McGowan, and Aaron (Rachael) Thwaites-McGowan.

Memorials are preferred to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Online donations can be made by clicking here.