James David Gawn

James David Gawn, 63, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania passed away on Thursday morning at Hospice & Community Care in Mount Joy with his family by his side. James, also known as Jim, is survived by his loving wife, Rachel Hazeltine Gawn, and his children, Sarah Hazeltine Gawn & Alexander Hazeltine Gawn. Jim was born to Agnes Adeline Gawn (née Moore) and David Richard Gawn on July 8, 1955 at the Massereene Hospital in Antrim, Northern Ireland. Jim descended from his maternal grandmother Thomasina Sarah Frazer, maternal grandfather James Moore, paternal grandmother Evelyn Gawn (née Reid), and paternal grandfather David Gawn. Jim grew up as the eldest of four along side his sister Glynis, and two brothers Michael & Frazer in Ballyclare, Northern Ireland where he attended Dunamuggy Primary School and graduated from Ballyclare High School in 1973. Jim continued his education at Lancaster University, England where he met his soon-to-be wife of 40 years, Rachel. Upon receiving his BA in Mathematics & Philosophy in 1976, Jim and Rachel moved to Hemel Hempstead, England where Jim worked at Rank Xerox while pursuing a diploma of management studies at the University of Westminster. Jim and Rachel were wed on August 5, 1978 in Rachel’s hometown of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In 1982, the couple made a permanent move to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to raise their future family. In 1985, Jim joined the Millersville University Information Technology department as Administrative Applications Manager & Project Leader and where he developed the school’s first online class registration system and cross-platform degree audit applications by pioneering MU’s first endeavor with IBM technology. While spearheading this initiative, Jim also received his Master Degree in Computer Science from Villanova University in 1989. Jim became a US citizen in 1990, after the birth of his first child, with the intention of joining the US democratic system to vote for policy he believed would be best for his children as they grew. Jim, a self-proclaimed “extreme moderate,” would go on to join the American Civil Liberties Union, the Union of Concerned Scientists, Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, and the Association for Computer Machinery. After leaving Millersville in 1998, Jim continued his career as an independent contractor specializing in cyber security engineering. Jim raised his children through their college years and worked with Tapestry Technologies until September 2018. His humble attitude and love of all things academic radiated throughout his daily life. Jim raised a beautiful family who will miss him dearly.

James David Gawn

March 21, 2019