UW graduate and Milwaukee-area native killed in Sri Lanka bombings

A Wisconsin native and UW-Madison graduate was killed in the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka, his employer confirmed Monday. 

Dieter Kowalski, 40, worked for Pearson, a global education and content assessment company. He had arrived at his hotel just hours before the bombings, according to a LinkedIn post from Pearson CEO John Fallon. 

Kowalski was a senior leader of Pearson's operation technical services team. The company is based in England, and Kowalski worked out of the firm's Denver office. 

"We mourn Dieter deeply today. We pray for his soul, and for his family and friends. We pray, too, for our colleagues in Sri Lanka, and Denver, and Boston, and in Pearson offices around the world," Fallon said. "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."

Kowalski’s mother, Inge Kowalski, told the Associated Press on Monday by phone from Madison that she is working with the U.S. embassy to bring her son’s body back to the United States.

Kowalski was a liaison among three engineering teams in Sri Lanka and also worked on English as a second language content, according to Kowaski's LinkedIn page. 

On Friday at 5:50 p.m. Kowalski left this post on Facebook: "And the fun begins. Love these work trips. 24 hours of flying. See you soon Sri Lanka!"

On the same Facebook post, Kowalski later confirmed he arrived in Sri Lanka.

"I have finally arrived. Local time 3 a.m. Sunday April 21st!" his comment said. 

Later on the Facebook post, Dieter's brother, Derrick Kowalski, wrote in a comment that Dieter had been killed in the bombings. 

"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. More information to follow. We have all lost a brother today... RIP Dieter," the comment reads. 

Kowalski was staying at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Sri Lanka, according to Fox 31 in Denver. The restaurant on the first floor of the five-star hotel was bombed. 

Kowalski is originally from the Milwaukee area and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2001, according to his social media pages. 

Sri Lanka Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said Monday that seven members of the radical Muslim group National Thowfeek Jamaath were responsible for the bombings that killed at least 290 people and injured 500 more at churches and luxury hotels. 

Most of the dead were Sri Lankan, but at least 39 foreign tourists were killed in the attacks, tourism minister John Amaratunga said. "Several" Americans were among the dead. 

Two bombers were involved in an attack at the Shangri-La hotel. One bomber each attacked the Cinnamon Grand and Kingsbury hotels and St. Anthony’s Shrine in Colombo, St. Sebastian’s church in the city of Negombo and Zion Church in the city of Batticaloa.

Jordyn Noennig covers pop culture and entertainment in Milwaukee.  Follow her on Instagram @JordynTaylor_n. Find her on Twitter @JordynTNoennig. Call her at 262-446-6601 or email Jordyn.Noennig@jrn.com.