Jonathan Paul Kowash

Jon was born August 19, 1963 in Salem Oregon and lived the first 12 years of his life in Woodburn and Hubbard. In 1975, the family moved to Albany Oregon where he attended Riverside Grade School and Memorial Junior High. The family moved again in 1978 to Eugene and Jon graduated from South Eugene High School in 1981. In 1982 he moved to Corvallis to attend Oregon State University. Jon’s initial college plan was derailed in part by his struggle with epilepsy. However, he had found his home in Corvallis and would remain there for nearly all of the remainder of his life. Jon worked at several jobs after leaving OSU, but continued to take classes to further his ambition to be a software engineer. Jon’s perseverance was rewarded when he completed a BS in Computer Science in 1999. He was hired by Hewlett Packard and especially enjoyed the fact that his role was challenging and supported operations around the world. His position was transferred to Austin, Texas where he worked for one year, but his continuing struggles with epilepsy led to his return to Corvallis to be near family and his long term medical providers. Jon was the oldest of 10 siblings and uncle to 16 nieces and nephews. Jon’s family was important to him and he always made the effort to attend celebrations, holidays and family camping trips. Jon was always willing to engage in lively conversations about technology, computers and many other areas of interest. He enjoyed traveling for work and pleasure, visiting sites in Europe, Asia and Mexico. He also enjoyed playing golf, bicycling, hiking, sailing, watching old movies, reading, and spending time with friends. A particular point of pride for Jon was his years volunteering with the Corvallis Community Theater and the Albany Civic Theater as a lighting designer and operator. Jon is survived by his parents Paul and Kathleen Kowash of Portland, OR; his grandparents Ray and Mary Noyes of Ontario, OR; and family members Phil, Eleni (Bograkos), Elizabeth, Christopher, & Michael Kowash of Saco, ME; Nate, Leslie (Hudson), Sam & Griffin Kowash of Portland, OR; Camille (Kowash), Brian, Brendan & Caitlin Tierney of Hillsboro, OR; Cindy (Kowash), Troy & Alex Wendt of Springfield, OR; Amy (Kowash), Eric, JP & Kenji Tanikawa of Florence, OR; Polly (Kowash), James, Kaleb and Hailey Fox, Ben, Desi (Denson), Eric, Aurelia, & Maria Kowash of Dayton, OH; Sarah Kowash of Wilsonville, OR; Ted, Sarah (VanCurler) & Eli Kowash of Gig Harbor, WA. He was preceded in death by his grandparents Albert & Caroline Kowash of Woodburn, OR and an infant brother. In lieu of flowers please make Memorial contributions in Jon's name to" We Care," an organization that gives financial support to people in emergency situations or the Albany Civic Theater in care of McHenry Funeral Home 206 NW 5th Street Corvallis, OR. 97330 A funeral mass is set for 11:00 am, Thursday July 11th at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Corvallis. Burial will take place at 11:00 am on Friday, July 12th at St. Louis Cemetery 14013 Manning Road Gervais, OR.

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Jonathan Paul Kowash

August 19, 1963 - July 3, 2013