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Obituary for Mary Anne Gowan
Mary Anne Jiggitts Gowan passed away on May 13, 2021, at Baptist Medical Center surrounded by her loved ones. Services will be held at Lakewood Memorial Cemetery 6000 Clinton Boulevard, Jackson, on Thursday, May 20 at 11 am. Family visitation will be at Sebrell Funeral Home 425 Northpark Drive, Ridgeland on Wednesday, May 19 from 5 until 7 pm.
Mary Anne was born on June 19, 1925, to Jackson attorneys Col. Louis Meredith and Lavonia Caradine Jiggitts. She was the granddaughter of Dr. James Robinson and Mary Powell Jiggitts of Canton and Judge and Mrs. James Emmett Caradine of West Point. She was the great-granddaughter of Judge Robert and Annie Tupper Powell of Jackson.
Mary Anne attended Jackson Public Schools and graduated from Central High School in 1943. She attended Converse College in South Carolina for two years and graduated from Millsaps College with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry in 1946, where she was a member of Chi Omega Fraternity.
On December 28, 1945, Mary Anne made her debut in Jackson. She was a member of the Cotillion Club, Debutante Club of Mississippi and Delta Beta Sigma Sorority. She was a charter member of the LeDejeuner Luncheon Club and a member of the Junior League of Jackson.
Mary Anne worked as a lab technician at Baptist Hospital, where she met Dr. Hugh L. Gowan of Thomastown. They married on August 18, 1951, and moved to Pickens. In Pickens, Mary Anne was active in the community, serving, among others things, as a Girl Scout troop leader. She was a communicant of Grace Episcopal Church of Canton.
An early disciple of the environmental movement, Mary Anne bought her first fuel efficient car in 1975, a Toyota Corolla with manual drive and an installed air conditioner, which had to be cut off at stop signs or the car would go dead.
In 1978, Mary Anne returned to school at Holmes Community College to study data processing, graduating first in her class. She bought one of the first at-home IBM computers and went on to learn over seven computer languages.
For many years, Mary Anne traveled extensively, first with her husband and, after his death in 1987, with friends. She especially loved traveling in Asia and enjoyed cooking Asiatic dishes.
Mary Anne returned to Jackson in 1988, where she enjoyed being a member of the LeDejeuner Luncheon Club, the Matron’s Luncheon Club, a volunteer for the International Ballet Competition and taking computer classes at Belhaven and Millsaps.
On January 27, 2005, Mary Anne married Chester Wells, and, with his encouragement, she took up the game of golf.
Mary Anne was preceded in death by her husbands, Dr. Hugh L. Gowan and Chester Wells. She is survived by her son Hugh L. Gowan Jr (Debbie) and grandson Lee; her daughter Meredith Gowan Le Goff and close family friend Bonnie Sides; nieces, Debie Jiggitts, Tupper England; nephews, Edley Jones, Howell Jones, and Bill Gowan.
A very special thanks to Addie Nichols, Cassandra Luckett and Gladys Townsend for all the care and attention given to Mary Anne over the past few years. Also thanks to the staff of KinderCare, especially Natalie Myrick.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Grace Episcopal Church, 161 E. Peace St., Canton, MS 39046, or to St. Jude's Hospital for Children, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.
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