Joseph McGowan III

Joseph Edward McGowan III was born  Feb. 25, 1940 in the Bronx, N.Y., to Joseph and Elizabeth (Dolan) McGowan.
Joe was the oldest, later joined by brother, John and sister Patricia. The young family resided on 262nd Street in the Bronx, just blocks away from family and lifelong friends.
Joe attended St. Margaret’s of Cortana Parish School in the Bronx, then onto Cardinal Hayes High School, an all-boys private Catholic high school in the Concourse Village neighborhood of the Bronx. 
The 1958 Commencement Exercises for Cardinal Hayes High School were held at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, where Joe graduated with High Honors. He attended Manhattan College in the Riverdale section of the Bronx where he received his Bachelor of Science Civil Engineering in 1962. 
While at Manhattan College, he was a member of Chi Epsilon, the National Civil Engineering Honor Fraternity; the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Society of American Military Engineers. His early work experience included seasonal sewage disposal helper for the Department of Public Works for the City of New York and later as junior civil engineer for the Bureau of the Budget for New York City.
Joe and his brother, John, were very active in Boy Scouts. One of the highlights of his scouting career was attending the 1953 Boy Scout Jamboree in Irvine, Calif. This momentous trip, July 10 – Aug. 2, 1953, took him from New York to Washington, D.C., by train to Colorado Springs, Colo., where they ascended Pikes Peak, to Santa Fe, N.M., the Grand Canyon, and California stops at Santa Ana, Long Beach, Irvine, Santa Cruz, San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Redwoods, to Salt Lake City, Utah then Yellowstone National Park. This trip of a lifetime influenced Joe for the rest of his life.
Growing up in the shadows of the Brooklyn Bridge, a cable-stayed suspension bridge, Joe knew early on that he wanted to build “big things,” which led him to pursue a civil engineering degree and career. Shortly after graduation from Manhattan College, he headed to California and got a job in a rotational training position with the State of California Department of Highways in San Francisco.
In September 1963, he enrolled in Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif., where he received his Master of Science Civil Engineering - Construction Management degree in May 1964.
After his graduation from Stanford he interviewed with two major construction companies: Peter Kiewit and Sons of Omaha, Neb., and Al Johnson Construction Company in Minneapolis, Minn. 
Joe’s career with Al Johnson Construction Co. (AJCCo) spanned 35 years. His projects included work with the numerous districts of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Arkansas Highway Department, Missouri Pacific Railroad, American Electric Power Service Corporation, Bureau of Reclamation, Ebasco Constructors, Inc., and Idaho Power Company. 
From Charleroi, Pa., he went onto Ozark and Little Rock, Ark.; Carters, Ga.; Gainesville, Ala.; Amory, Miss.; Justice, W.V.; St. Paul, Minn.; Racine, Ohio; Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana; Jackson, Wyo.; Concordia Parish, La.; Kuna, Idaho; Coushatta, La.; Eleanor, W.V., and Pittsburgh, Pa.
Joe worked on dams, highway and railroad bridges, powerhouses, spillways, locks, cofferdam removal, and hydroelectric plants. He was promoted to project manager in 1974, project sponsor in 1985 and vice president of the csorporation in 1992. In July 1982, he received his Professional Engineer Certificate from the Board of Architecture, Engineering, Land Surveying and Landscape Architecture from the State of Minnesota.
After completion of the R. D. Bailey Lake Dam in Justice, W.V., in January 1980, Joe returned to the Minneapolis office to complete punch list items, assist with ongoing projects and estimate new work. As he returned to work in, what he would call a “mausoleum of an office,” he heard the laughter of the company’s purchasing secretary/receptionist and immediately knew he was going to marry her one day. Joe married Monica Flatt Sept. 25, 1981, at Good Samaritan United Methodist Church in a small ceremony with immediate family.
After years of moving around the country from one construction project to another, Joe and Monica returned to Minnesota in June 1993, where Joe was “permanently assigned” to the main office, stepping into his role as project sponsor and vice president of the corporation. They spent that year designing and building their “dream home” outside of Lakeville, thinking they would spent the rest of their days at their idyllic location in the Hills of Credit River. 
Monica’s deep Western South Dakota roots eventually drew them back to Custer, S.D., when they sold their dream home in May 2018 and returned to the Black Hills.
Joe enjoyed spending time in Custer “at the ranch” but always wished he could have a “view of the Needles.” Monica found their “new” home with a view of the Needles and Joe was content. He enjoyed the serenity in his walks at Stockade Lake, continued his life-long pursuit as a birder and soon discovered and made new friends.
Joe passed away Monday morning, July 7, 2025, at 4:08 a.m. at Monument Health Custer Hospital after a brief illness. As Monica was leaving after that “final goodbye,” a Great Blue Heron flew overhead, heading east toward the dawn’s early light; surely a sign from Joe and God that “all is well.”
Joe was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph and Elizabeth (Beth); brother, John and his wife Sheila; parents-in-law, Elmer and Ginger Flatt; niece, Anne McGowan; as well as aunts, uncles and cousins. 
Joe will be missed by his wife of 43 years, Monica; sister, Pat; many cousins, nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews; his extended Al Johnson Family; and the many friends he made throughout his life’s journey. 
Christian Funeral Vigil will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 17 at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Custer.  
Christian Funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, July 18 at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Custer.
Arrangements have been placed in the care of Chamberlain McColleys Funeral Home in Custer.