Dylan Amadeus McGowen, 32, of New Bedford, MA, passed away on November 6th, 2020 at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
He was born in New Bedford, MA, on Sept. 28, 1988, along with his twin. When he wasn’t touring the country with various careers and adventures, he lived in his hometown of New Bedford. He is survived by his mother, Karen Andersen, his father, Christopher McGowen, his twin brother, Ian McGowen, his grandmother Kathleen McKenna, and many aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends who will miss him dearly. He was pre-deceased by his grandparents, John and Nettie McGowen, and Richard J. Lynch.
Dylan attended New Bedford High School from 2001-2006, and Bristol Community College in 2007. He studied music and theatre, and worked on building sets for the Theatre Department. Dylan easily made friends with hundreds of people. He was extremely easygoing, always welcomed a stranger, and always wanted to keep the mood lively. Who you were or where you came from didn’t matter to him; all he needed to know was that everyone was there to enjoy themselves, and if you weren't happy he'd do everything he could to make sure you were. Dylan was always ready with a joke or a feat of dexterity, like juggling or climbing a tree, and you couldn’t help but feel at ease around him.
Dylan was quite an accomplished musician, having an innate ease with instruments and a love of all kinds of music. One year, receiving a flute and a Jethro Tull CD for Christmas, he proceeded to easily figure out and play along with the music as if he'd been playing the flute for years. Though he never formed a concrete band to speak of, he played with any and every musician he could, and loved every minute of it. He truly lived up to his middle name, Amadeus.
Dylan's careers were varied but robust, and he was always the one working the hardest at any job site. He toured across the country working the games section of King Richard's Faire. He worked at Yellowstone National Park as a seasonal worker. And in the last few years he worked as a freelance painter and landscaper.
There will be a private memorial service, and we will have a gathering to honor his spirit and celebrate his life with a full retinue of friends when it’s safe to do so, with a tentative date of Spring/Summer 2021.
In lieu of flowers, etc, all donations can be sent to Gallery X, a local non-profit New Bedford art gallery and cooperative in New Bedford, where Dylan and his family have a long history. The site for donations is https://www.galleryx.org/support/, and please mention that you are donating in Dylan’s name.