William Carlile Gowen

William Carlile Gowen (Lile)

April 15, 1957-January 5, 2026

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Seattle resident Lile Gowen was born. Sadly, William Carlile “Lile” Gowen, 68, beloved brother, uncle and friend to many, passed away at University of Washington Medical Center on Monday, January 5, 2026. In the hours before his passing, Lile was surrounded by family and dear friends while science fiction movies, his life-long passion, played in the background on his hospital room TV.

Though he was a long time Seattle resident, Lile was born on April 15, 1957 in Cambridge, Massachusetts and raised in the Boston area. He would often later quip that taxes were his birthday gift to America. As a child and teenager, Lile journeyed with his family to Nigeria, East Africa, Brazil and Ethiopia. While living in Addis Ababa, he developed a taste for Ethiopian cuisine, a tolerance for hyper-spicy foods, and he once watched the African premiere of “Shaft in Africa” in the same movie theater as Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I. When he was younger he maintained an extensive beer can collection, studied jiujitsu and judo under legendary Boston martial arts sensei Robert Dickey and learned to fearlessly navigate the snow clogged roads of Boston, Cambridge, Somerville and Medford in his beat up brown Chevy Impala. Once, while driving along Boston’s Charles River, Lile remarked that he loved driving a car that had “nothing to lose”.

A life-long baseball fan, Lile was both a Red Sox fan and the proud owner of Mariners season tickets from the mid-80s until the day he died. From his seats behind home plate at the Kingdome, Lile was famous for his booming cheer of “Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhd-gar” every time Mariners Hall-of-Famer Edgar Martinez stepped up to the plate. His voice was so loud that one could often hear it on Mariners TV broadcasts. In 2012, Lile was vacationing on Maui when he was approached by another beachgoer who introduced himself by saying, “You’re the Edgar guy, right? I recognize the voice.” The season ticket holders from all around him were his summertime family. Generous to a fault, Lile always gave away his tickets whenever he couldn’t make a game. Many friends and family members attended their first major league game as guests of their “Uncle Lile”.

Science fiction in all its forms was Lile’s passion. His Queen Anne home was filled with thousands of sci-fi books, and for many years he hosted the final dinner for participants and visiting authors of the Clarion West Writing Workshop, a six week summer writing intensive for emerging authors in the speculative fiction genre. He also supported Seattle Children’s Hospital Uncompensated Care Fund through annual purchases of themed Christmas trees at the Seattle Festival of Trees-his favorites were the Mariners and the Sci-Fi trees. He was a regular attendee at Norwescon, Seattle’s premier science fiction convention, and every year, Lile would return to Boston on President’ Day Weekend in February to attend the Boston Science Fiction Film Festival’s 24 Hour Science Fiction Film Marathon.

Beginning in 1980, Lile recruited friends and family with an almost missionary zeal to attend the ‘Thon with him. In any one year, one could find him sitting in the back of the Somerville Theater on Presidents’ Day Weekend surrounded by ten to twenty friends and family. They were there, not because they loved science fiction, but rather because they loved Lile, his un-judging friendship, his wacky, sci-fi laced humor and his sharing, great heart. Upon news of Lile’s passing, Lile’s immediate family received countless pictures of people who he had touched throughout his life, streaming science fiction movies and the cartoon Duck Dodgers of the 24 1/2 Century to honor his life, to share their love for him and to express their heartbreak at his passing.

Lile Gowen, beloved friend, brother, son, cousin and uncle is survived by his sisters, Louisa Gowen Malatos (Scott) and Laura Brisbane (Cal Buys), brother Burry Gowen (Wendy), father Geoff Gowen, life-long friend Chris Twombley, dear friends Craig and Jen, caregivers and special friends Keri, Rosie, Abbot and Victor and dozens of nieces, nephews and cousins. A sci-fi themed celebration will be held in the spring to honor Lile’s life. We, his family and friends, mourn Lile’s passing but celebrate his wonderful life as he takes the next step on his phantazmagoricly splendiferous journey to reach the Chrono Synclastic Infindibulum. In lieu of flowers, we welcome memorial contributions to Clarion West Writers Workshop (clarionwest.org) or Seattle Children’s Hospital Uncompensated Care Fund (give.seattlechildrens.org)