January 17, 2005

Hundreds turn out in tribute

By JoNel Aleccia
For the Tidings

From the podium at Joanie McGowan's hours-long memorial service Sunday, local radio host Jeff Golden paused to echo the thoughts of many in the overflow crowd at Southern Oregon University.

"I wish she was standing here right now and seeing what I see," Golden said.

A sea of people, 600 at least, filled the chairs, lined the walls and sat crossed-legged on the carpet, most still stunned that Ashland had lost one of its own.

They held hands and hugged, they wiped tears and swapped tales of the wild-haired performer and activist simultaneously remembered as a marching won ton, a politician - and as a woman who wanted to save the world.

The mourners grew solemn as family members and friends revealed the dark side of the public persona of McGowan, 48, whose body was found Tuesday near the Bear Creek Greenway.

Investigators believe McGowan died on or about Jan. 6 from the effects of an intentional drug overdose and hypothermia. Her wrists also had been cut. Those who loved her said she struggled with bi-polar disorder, a mental illness.

"She just couldn't grab on to hope," said Claire McGowan, a sister.

Several of the scheduled speakers in SOU's Rogue River Room vowed that McGowan's death would illuminate flaws in local and state services for mental illness. McGowan reportedly sought treatment for depression from several sources in the months before her death.

"God willing, our community will come together in her merit to transform a very broken mental health system," said David Zaslow, an Ashland rabbi and longtime friend of McGowan's.

The service included funny recollections of the woman born Joan Marie McGowan on June 29, 1956 in North Attleboro, Mass. The fifth of six kids in a large Irish-Catholic family, McGowan began performing "when she was 3 years old," her older brother, Paul McGowan, joked before the service.

"She was the family extrovert," he said.

Blessed with a huge mane of dark curls, McGowan sometimes was known only as "the girl with the hair," said Ron Roth, owner of Geppetto's restaurant, where McGowan worked for years.

"I used to tell her if she were on a New York subway she'd take up three spaces," Zaslow added.

McGowan moved to Ashland at age 19 to attend what was then Southern Oregon State College, her brother said. She loved the community and quickly developed a network of friends and colleagues that ranged from street people and downtown employees to public radio staff, actresses and politicos.

McGowan was passionate about public activism, as evidenced in her political theater, including an original play: "It's Never Too Late to Save the World."

Last summer, she was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. Golden read a letter from former presidential contender Dennis Kucinich mourning McGowan's passing and praising her passion.

McGowan believed in the politics of civic engagement several speakers recalled, including State Rep. Peter Buckley, who won his seat in November.

"I ran for office knowing full well that if I was elected, I'd have to answer to Joanie McGowan," Buckley said.

Buckley and others urged the crowd to pursue McGowan's passions in her memory.

"Make somebody laugh for Joanie McGowan," Buckley urged. "Raise some money for Joanie McGowan . . . Convert a conservative for Joanie McGowan!"

With that, more than 600 people stood, cheering and clapping and thrusting their fists in the air.

Then one woman leaned to her neighbor and said:

"The only thing missing is Joanie."