West Hollow Middle School Special Ed Teacher Dies of a Rare Cancer

It's been a tough year for the Half Hollow Hills community: In July of 2009, former Board of Ed president, died of uterine cancer at the age of 64. This past April, former Otsego Principal Sharon Stepankewich, who retired last winter, died of a rare cancer.

And just this past July 12, a West Hollow Middle School special education teacher, Dina McGowan, who was only 40 years old, died of a rare form of pancreatic cancer, called neuroendocrine carcinoid tumors.

Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, was diagnosed with this same rare form of pancreatic cancer in 2004. He's become the poster child for this disease, which has only 1 to 5 cases per million people annually.

McGowan had taught at West Hollow for the past five years, and taught in North Bellmore before that. Her husband, Steve, has lived in Dix Hills his entire life, and resides in the house he grew up in, with his two children—a daughter who just started 7th grade at West Hollow, and a son, who is a freshman at St. Anthony's.

"It was a very tough summer for us," McGowan's husband said. "But we were very fortunate that my kids got to spend a lot of quality time with her this summer and that she died in the house with her friends and family around her."

Steve McGowan said that his children were handling his wife's death fairly well, and he credits the "amazing support" they've gotten from the school district and the entire community.

One community member who gave them (and still gives them) a lot of support, is Board of Education member, Frank Grimaldi, who Steve grew up with. Grimaldi said, "Steve is a great guy, and one of my closest friends.  His family means a great deal to me. The McGowans are very well respected members of the Dix Hills community. Dina's passing has been a difficult one for our entire community.  She was a wonderful human being who touched the lives of so many people, both the children that she taught and the families that she interacted with on the fields of 'Main Street, Dix Hills.'"

McGowan was diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer seven years ago, when she was only 33, her husband said. "She worked the last three years while undergoing treatment," he said. "She would go into the city for chemo and then go right back to work the next day. Sometimes she even went to work with the chemo drip attached to her. She actually taught while the chemo was flowing into her system. She was a fighter. She loved to teach, especially at Half Hollow Hills." She taught as long as she could, until last November, he said.

Milton Strong, the principal of West Hollow Middle School, said, "I had the pleasure of working with Dina McGowan for several years.  In addition to her strong work ethic, one characteristic that personified Dina was her passion for teaching. She dedicated herself to providing a rich, nurturing environment for our kids in order to have them reach their fullest potential.  Dina was an extremely valued member of our school community who will sorely be missed."

McGowan's husband, Steve, is starting a foundation in her name. He hopes to have a golf outing next summer as one way to raise funds.

"I want to raise money for scholarships for students who came through the special education program in Half Hollow Hills, to help further their education," he said. "I want to keep her legacy and her memory alive. And I would love it if some of her former students were among the first to receive the scholarships. That would have meant a lot to Dina."