Obituary of Eugene L. Gochnauer

Eugene L. Gochnauer, age 100 of Lewiston, died Thursday March 10, 2011 in Mount St. Mary's Hospital in Lewiston. Born November 17, 1910 in Colorado Springs, Colorado to the late William and Ina (Hart) Gochnauer. Eugene moved with his family to Portland, Oregon where he resided from 1912 to 1915. At the age of five, he moved to Washington State where his family initially resided with his grandparents in Adams County. There, he began first grade in the one-room Billington school, riding to school each day double on a pony with his nine year old sister, three miles each way. After graduating from Othello High School in 1929, he attended Washington State College (now Washington State University) in Pullman, Washington. He graduated in 1934 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering. For a year after graduation, he worked as a land surveyor, repair mechanic, and as a construction electrician at Grand Coulee Dam in Washington State. In 1936, he took a job as a striker electric engine man at Fort Peck Dam, Montana, and by 1938, had been promoted to the position of electrical engineer at the site. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation hired Mr. Gochnauer in 1939 and sent him back to Grand Coulee Dam where, this time, he was in charge of civil inspection on concrete structures and, later, electrical engineering at the hydroelectric plant. During two decades with the Bureau of Reclamation, Mr. Gochnauer supervised the erection, testing, and initial operation of electrical, mechanical and transmission equipment at Anderson Ranch Dam, Idaho, and Hungry Horse Dam, Montana, where he eventually became the project superintendent. The Hungry Horse project included construction of a 564-foot high concrete dam and power plant with 285,000 kilowatts installed capacity. In June, 1959 he left the Bureau of Reclamation to work for the New York State Power Authority, playing a major role in the construction and energization of the Robert Moses Niagara Power Project. Initially on loan from the Power Authority to the design and construction engineering firm of Uhl, Hall and Rich, he recruited, organized and supervised the electrical and mechanical engineering and inspection forces involved in setting up the installation. At Niagara he supervised the testing and initial setup procedures of the plant's accessory equipment, generators and pumps that produced the project's 2,190,000 kilowatts of power. At the same time, Mr. Gochnauer developed plans, recruited personnel, and supervised training of the operating cadre required for the initial operation of the Niagara Power Project. Just prior to energization of the plant, Mr. Gochnauer was appointed Superintendent of Power, and began the task of building and equipping the operating and maintenance organization required for the continuing function of the installation by means of carefully planned, economically-scheduled outages. In 1972 Mr. Gochnauer assumed the title of Resident Manager. He held that position until he retired from the New York State Power Authority July 1, 1979. Mr. Gochnauer was a registered professional engineer in Montana, and continues to be a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the National Society of Professional Engineers, the Masonic Lodge, and the Niagara Frontier Country Club. He also served on the Technology Curriculum Advisory Committee at Niagara County Community College. Mr. Gochnauer was an ardent golfer, sportsman, and an avid artist using acrylic and oils. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Lewiston and a member of Paul Revere Lodge # 205 F. & A.M. in Othello, WA. He was married to Annie Frances (Pessein) Gochnauer who died in 1985. He has a daughter, Lois A. Gochnauer (lawyer, retired U.S. Foreign Service Officer and former dancer with the National Ballet of Canada), of Lewiston, NY and a son, Myron Gochnauer (Anne Crocker) (philosopher, photographer and Associate Professor of Law at the University of New Brunswick), of Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. He was predeceased by two sisters, Helen Burns-Mael and Dorothy Atkins. Friends may call at HARDISON FUNERAL HOME, N. Fourth & Ridge Sts., Lewiston on Saturday, March 12, from 10:00 am to 12:00 Noon. Services and interment will be private. Flowers are gratefully declined. Memorials may be made to the American Diabetes Assoc., WNY Chapter, 315 Alberta Dr., Amherst, NY 14226.