Vesta Gow Howard

School Matriarch

Vesta Elisabeth Gow Howard, 92, of South Wales, N.Y., the daughter of The Gow School founder and the wife of one of its headmasters, died November 27 at the Center for Hospice and Palliative Care in Cheektowaga, N.Y.

She is survived by her daughter, Wendy (late Lee) Davenson of Sandy Hook; her son Stephen W. Howard, and his wife, Dimiti, of Lebanon, Maine; six grandchildren and their spouses, William Bausch, Jeffrey and Jennifer Bausch, Elizabeth and Charles Gorman, Amy Lindsay Howard, Betsey and Paul Beamer, and Sarah Howard; one great-granddaughter; three great-grandsons; and several very close nieces and nephews.

Born August 4, 1913, in Buffalo, N.Y. to Peter and Mabelle Whitcomb Gow, she became a South Wales resident in 1921, when her father started The Gow School on converted farmland and moved his family to the campus.

She was a graduate of East Aurora High School. In 1937, she married Norman W. Howard, who served as Gow headmaster from 1956 to 1974. The couple lived on campus, where Mrs Howard was a major presence at the school for nearly 80 years, and considered its matriarch by decades of affectionate students.

Her daughter, Wendy Davenson, said Mrs Howard will be remembered for her warmth and for her genuine love of young people. “She was just a fun person to be with, a wonderful mother and incredible grandmother. She was loved by all she met!” she said of her mother. “There are no regrets except for the void she leaves behind.”

Contributions in her memory may be made to The Gow School, 2491 Emery Road, South Wales NY 14139, or The Norman Howard School, 275 Pinnacle Road, Rochester NY 14623.

The Newtown Bee        December 9, 2005