Milwaukee-area native killed in Sri Lanka attack

A Milwaukee-area native has been identified as one of the Americans killed in coordinated attacks in Sri Lanka.

A Milwaukee-area native has been identified as one of the Americans killed in coordinated attacks in Sri Lanka.

TOYA: AT LEAST 24 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN ARRESTED IN CONNECTION WITH THE LARGE-SCALE ATTACK. A MILWAUKEE RIVERSIDE HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE DIED IN THE TERROR ATTACK. PATRICK: DIETER KOWALSKI WAS IN SRI LANKA FOR WORK. HE HAD JUST CHECKED INTO HIS HOTEL WHEN A BOMB, WENT OFF. 12 NEWS TERRY SATER IS LIVE AT HIS ALMA MATER, WHERE ONE OF HIS FORMER TEACHERS IS REMEMBERING HIM. TERRY: THIS IS WHERE DIETER KOWALSKI WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL, HE PLAYED TENNIS AND LIKED STUDYING FOREIGN LANGUAGES. HE IS FONDLY REMEMBERED TONIGHT AS A HARD-WORKING ATHLETE AND STUDENT AND NOW, SADLY, ALSO KNOWN AS A TERROR VICTIM. THIS IS A PHOTO OF DIETER KOWALSKI AT MILWAUKEE’S RIVERSIDE HIGH SCHOOL. THEN AN OUTSTANDING STUDENT AND TENNIS PLAYER, NOW A VICTIM OF TERRORISM IN SRI LANKA. RETIRED RIVERSIDE HIGH MATH TEACHER SUE CORNELL SERVED AS KOWALSKI’S TENNIS COACH FOR THEIR DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP SQUAD AND REMEMBERS HE GRADUAT IN 1997 WITH A NEAR 4.0 GPA. >> I WAS REALLY IMPRESSED WITH HIM AS A STUDENT AS WELL AS AN ATHLETE. I KNOW HE WORKED PART TIME. AND SO HE WAS ALWAYS ACTIVE. HE HAD A LOT OF FRIENDS. HE TALKED A LOT. TERRY: KOWALSKI GRADUATED FROM U.W. MADISON AND WAS WORKING FOR A COMPANY IN DENVER. HE POSTED ON HIS FACEBOOK PAGE FRIDAY, "AND THE FUN BEGINS. LOVE THESE WORK TRIPS. 24 HOURS OF FLYING. SEE YOU SOON, SRI LANKA." AND THEN AGAIN, "I HAVE FINALLY ARRIVED," LOCAL TIME 3:00 A.M. SUNDAY, APRIL 21. THEN TERRORISTS STRUCK THE HOTEL WHERE KOWALSKI WAS STAYING. >> IT WAS JUST UNBELIEVABLE. I’VE USED THAT WORD SO MANY TIMES. YOU JUST CAN’T BELIEVE THAT IT’S SOMEBODY YOU ACTUALLY KNOW. TERRY: KOWALSKI’S BROTHER AL POSTED ON FACEBOOK, "IT IS WITH GREAT SADNESS AND DEEP REGRET THAT, AS DIETER’S BROTHER, THAT I CONFIRM THAT DIETER WAS AMONG THE VICTIM’S THAT PASSED AWAY IN SRI LANKA. AS WE KNOW THAT DIETER SAW HIS FRIENDS AS FAMILY, WE WOULD LIKE TO SHARE OUR GRIEF OVER THIS TRAGIC INCIDENT." >> IT AFFECTS ANYBODY’S FEELING OF SAFETY TO KNOW THAT SOMEBODY YOU KNOW IS IN A SITUATION LIKE THAT. IT BRINGS IT CLOSER TO HOME. PATRICK: TERRY, YOU SAID KOWALSKI WAS ON A WORK TRIP FOR A DENVER COMPANY. THE COMPANY’S CEO ISSUED A STATEMEN TERRY: WE WERE TOLD KOWALSKI WAS A SENIOR LEADER OF THE COMPANY’S OPERATION TECHNICAL SERVICES TEAM AND WAS WORKING WITH ENGINEERING TEAMS IN SRI LANKA. HE HELPED AND SERVED OTHERS WITH JOY, HAPPINESS, AND GRACE.

Milwaukee-area native killed in Sri Lanka attack

A Milwaukee-area native has been identified as one of the Americans killed in coordinated attacks in Sri Lanka.

A Milwaukee-area native has been identified as one of the Americans killed in coordinated attacks in Sri Lanka.The Easter Sunday attacks have killed at least 290 people.Dieter Kowalski, originally from Greenfield, was among the victims.He worked for Pearson and was based in Denver.Kowalski was a graduate of Riverside University High School in Milwaukee.According to his LinkedIn profile, Kowalski graduated from UW-Madison in 2001 with a degree in international relations and German.Kowalski's mother said her son was in the breakfast area of the hotel when the bomb went off.Pearson CEO John Fallon wrote to company employees Monday to notify them of Kowalski's death.Fallon said Kowalski was a senior leader on a technical operations team.He had just arrived at his hotel in Colombo when a bomb exploded."Colleagues who knew Dieter well talk about how much fun he was to be around, how big-hearted and full-spirited he was," Fallon wrote in a post on LinkedIn. "They tell of a man to whom we could give our ugliest and most challenging of engineering problems, knowing full well that he would jump straight in and help us figure it out."He went on to say Pearson and Kowalski's co-workers are in mourning."We pray for his soul, and for his family and friends," Fallon wrote. "We pray, too, for our colleagues in Sri Lanka, and Denver, and Boston, and in Pearson offices around the world. We’re angry that a good man, who took simple pleasure in fixing things, has been killed, along with many others, by evil men and women who know only how to destroy."Police have arrested 24 people in connection with the suicide bombs, which injured at least 500 people, in the worst violence the South Asian island has seen since its bloody civil war ended 10 years ago.The Wisconsin Alumni Association released the following statement on Kowalski's death:"The Wisconsin Alumni Association sends it condolences to the family and friends of UW-Madison alum Dieter Kowalski who died in the Sri Lanka bombings, and all those killed on Sunday. Dieter was a true Badger, living the Wisconsin Idea. He took the knowledge gained at UW-Madison and tried to change the world for the better." Get breaking news alerts with the WISN 12 app or our email newsletters.Follow us: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

MILWAUKEE —

A Milwaukee-area native has been identified as one of the Americans killed in coordinated attacks in Sri Lanka.

The Easter Sunday attacks have killed at least 290 people.

Dieter Kowalski, originally from Greenfield, was among the victims.

He worked for Pearson and was based in Denver.

Kowalski was a graduate of Riverside University High School in Milwaukee.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Kowalski graduated from UW-Madison in 2001 with a degree in international relations and German.

Kowalski's mother said her son was in the breakfast area of the hotel when the bomb went off.

Pearson CEO John Fallon wrote to company employees Monday to notify them of Kowalski's death.

Fallon said Kowalski was a senior leader on a technical operations team.

He had just arrived at his hotel in Colombo when a bomb exploded.

"Colleagues who knew Dieter well talk about how much fun he was to be around, how big-hearted and full-spirited he was," Fallon wrote in a post on LinkedIn. "They tell of a man to whom we could give our ugliest and most challenging of engineering problems, knowing full well that he would jump straight in and help us figure it out."

He went on to say Pearson and Kowalski's co-workers are in mourning.

"We pray for his soul, and for his family and friends," Fallon wrote. "We pray, too, for our colleagues in Sri Lanka, and Denver, and Boston, and in Pearson offices around the world. We’re angry that a good man, who took simple pleasure in fixing things, has been killed, along with many others, by evil men and women who know only how to destroy."

Police have arrested 24 people in connection with the suicide bombs, which injured at least 500 people, in the worst violence the South Asian island has seen since its bloody civil war ended 10 years ago.

The Wisconsin Alumni Association released the following statement on Kowalski's death:

"The Wisconsin Alumni Association sends it condolences to the family and friends of UW-Madison alum Dieter Kowalski who died in the Sri Lanka bombings, and all those killed on Sunday. Dieter was a true Badger, living the Wisconsin Idea. He took the knowledge gained at UW-Madison and tried to change the world for the better."

Get breaking news alerts with the WISN 12 app or our email newsletters.
Follow us: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

Milwaukee-area native killed in Sri Lanka attack

A Milwaukee-area native has been identified as one of the Americans killed in coordinated attacks in Sri Lanka.

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