Extracted from The Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL)
Friday, April 12, 1963

JAMES D. GOW OF WILMETTE DIES OF WOUND

Head of Firm Shot; Gun in Hand

James D. Gow, 38, business man and father of six, died yesterday of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound in his home at 2112 Glenview rd., Wilmette.

Gow, president and general manager of Radiation Counter Laboratories, Inc., 5121 Grove st., Skokie, was found dead by his wife, Helen. Police said he had been shot once in the head, and that a .38 caliber revolver was found in his right hand.

No Notes Found

No notes were found, and Mrs. Gow said she knew of no reason why her husband would take his life.

Gow's body was found in the den of the two-story home near a desk covered with income tax return forms on which he had been working Wednesday night. His wife told police he had personally assumed all financial responsibility for the Skokie firm, an electronics firm which is a subsidiary of Allied Research Associates, Inc., Boston.

Amnesia Is Recalled

Gow was reported missing about a month ago after he left on a business trip to Belgium. His wife said that he later found himself in a motel room in Boston in a dazed condition. After returning home, he told her he had amnesia for several days.

It also was learned Gow had taken a month's leave of absence from his work at the Skokie firm last January, when he was reported to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Lt. Matthew Schwall of the Wilmette police department said an inquest will be held at 9:30 a.m. today at 1460 Sherman av., Evanston.

Funeral services will be private.