Obituary: Deirdre McGowan

Deirdre McGowan, who was executive director of Inland Rivers, Ports & Terminals (IRPT) from 1999 to 2012, died May 23 at the age of 80.

Aimee Andres, McGowan’s successor at IRPT, called McGowan “a passionate river advocate.”

“I very much understood the big shoes I had to fill when I joined the staff of IRPT in 2013,” Andres wrote. “Deirdre helped grow our association to where it is today, and, together with the board of directors, developed the mission that serves our industry today.”

Among many other roles during her lengthy management career, McGowan also served as director of the Mississippi Water Resources Association and a board member of the New Orleans Board of Trade.

Deirdre’s last years were filled with leading in-depth poetry and Bible study classes, as well as organizing movie nights for friends and fellow residents in her assisted living facility in Ridgeland, Miss.