Joseph Phil McGowan, Jr.

Phil was born on October 22, 1932 to Joseph Phil McGowan, Sr. and Fredericka Alexander in Cleburne, Texas. His father was a Landman, so he grew up moving around to different cities with the family, eventually finding their way to Corpus Christi for his senior year in high school. It was in Corpus Christi that he met and ultimately married the love of his life, Peggy Craft. Peggy and Phil married in the fall of 1952 and were together for the next 68 years.

Phil graduated from W. B. Ray High School in Corpus Christi and then moved to Houston in 1951. In the basement of the old Downtown YMCA building, he went on to earn an Associates in Arts degree from South Texas Junior College (1953) and his LLB Degree from South Texas College of Law (1956). After graduation, Phil went to work for El Paso Natural Gas Co for several years before ending up at Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line (now Williams). His 30-year career began as a Contract representative in Gas Supply. At Transco, he later served as Manager, Director and Vice-President of Gas Purchases from 1972-1986. From 1986 – 1990, in what was described as a perfect example of poetic justice, he served Transco as Vice-President of Producer Relations – presumably to unravel the complications of the gas purchases he had negotiated over the previous 14 years. After his official retirement, he was contracted by Williams for several years as a consultant. After leaving the corporate world, Phil was able to practice law in the private sector, preparing wills and other related legal documents used in estate planning for friends and family. In 2016, 60 years after becoming a lawyer, he resigned from the State Bar of Texas. His daughters commemorated this event by presenting him with a brick from the old Downtown YMCA building which was demolished in 2011.

During his career Phil was a member of many oil and gas-related professional associations, including the Gas Processors Association, the Natural Gas Association of Houston, the Houston Association of Petroleum Landmen and the American Association of Landmen. After retirement, in1991, he received the GPA Recognition Award from the Gas Processors Association. He was recognized for his quiet influence which was a positive factor in pipeline/producer relationships during a time when the industry was in transition. Phil was devoted to his family and friends, never short on advice and always looking out for others.

He is survived by his daughters, Elizabeth A. Zajicek; Nancy L. Bush (John); Julie M. Durham (Steve); grandsons Taylor Bush, Josh Durham (Kaitlyn), Drew Durham and his sister in law, Dee McGowan. He is preceded in death by his wife Peggy Alice Craft McGowan, his parents, Phil and Fredericka McGowan; his younger brothers, Fred McGowan and Robert McGowan, and his son in law Mickey Zajicek.

The family would like to thank the staff at The Gardens of Bellaire for their faithful care and the compassionate staff from Blue Bonnet Palliative Care. A very special thank you to all his caregivers for becoming part of our family, and for loving and caring for Dad in his last months.

A memorial service will be held for both Phil and Peggy at ten o’clock in the morning on Saturday, the 12th of March, in the sanctuary of St. Philip's United Methodist Church, 5501 Beechnut Street, Houston, Texas, 77096.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that gifts in Phil’s memory be made to St. Philip's United Methodist Church or Blue Bonnet Palliative Care, 12111 Rand Road 12, Suite 114, Wimberley, TX 78676.