David Stafford McGowan

He was preceded in death by his father, Kevin Patrick McGowan, and is survived by his mother, Lib Reid McGowan, brother Chris McGowan, and girlfriend Savannah Shoemake. He is also survived by aunts and uncles Marcy Reid-Smith (Macon) of Greensboro, NC; John Reid (Weddington NC), Laney Reid Hartis (Kelly) of Matthews, NC, Jim McGowan (Peggy) of Jackson, Thom Balcome (Jo) of Raleigh, NC, and Stephen Balcome (Deb) of Charlotte, NC. He is also survived by many loving cousins: Raychl Smith (David Godwin), Rebecca Smith, Kat Reid, Natalie Reid, Kelley Hartis Cobb (Lee), Amber Hartis, Emily Hartis, Jimmy McGowan, Danny McGowan, Matt Balcome, Kelly Balcome, John Balcome (Meryl) and Jason Balcome.

David was born in Cary, NC, and moved to Apex when he was 5 years old. He attended Baucom Elementary, Apex Middle, and Apex High School. He participated in cross country and track while at Apex High. He attended NC State University, where he studied Plant Biology and worked in the NCSU Herbarium. After leaving NC State, he worked at Cure Nursery, a Pittsboro nursery specializing in native NC plants, until the nursery closed due to the retirement of the owners. He was most recently employed by the Cary Public Library.

David was a huge Carolina Hurricanes fan and enjoyed attending games with his Dad and his brother. He was also an avid reader and a wonderful person to have on your trivia team. He enjoyed the outdoors and sharing his knowledge of native NC plants. He also volunteered with the Simple Gifts Community Garden, which provides most of its harvest to local food banks.

In lieu of flowers, a gift to either the North Carolina Native Plant Society (https://www.ncwildflower.org) or the Wake County Public Library (https://www.wake.gov/departments-government/libraries/about-wcpl/support-wcpl) would honor David’s memory.

A visitation will be held January 13th, 2025 at 11:00 AM at Apex Funeral Home at 550 W. Williams St. Apex, NC 27502 with a service following.