Ethel Gowans was born around 1885 in New York. She worked as a field demonstration agent for the U. S. Department of Education. During World War I, Gowans visited various parts of the state to teach North Carolinians how to best build home and school gardens. She was a longtime professor at Kent State University (1919-1938). Gowans died in Kent, Ohio, on January 29, 1963.