Donlon P. McGovern was born in Johnstown PA, April 2 1906. He attended Westmont/Upper Yoder High School and while there won an art scholarship to University of Southern California. As a college student, he and a friend set up an outdoor sculpture studio just off-campus and that is where he carved the Lewis and Clark panel for the Clarkston, WA Post Office.

Mr. McGovern did a number of sculptures for public sites including a granite bust of the President of the University, done while he was a student at University of Southern California, School of Fine Arts.

Mr. McGovern was working on a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree but World War II ended his education. He had taken a position as a draftsman with North American Aviation in 1939 developing training aids with watercolor paintings of instument panels for pilot training on a number of military aircraft.

After WWII he attended Art Center School in Los Angeles to further his techniques with oils and water color as a heart condition kept him from being able to return to working in stone or wood. He retired due to the heart condition in 1965. By then he had worked his way to the position of a Design Engineer for the Apollo Project. He passed away in November of 1989 in Pasadena, CA.

This information and photograph were contributed by Donlon McGovern, son of the artist.