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'Big-hearted and full-spirited': Company mourns American killed in Sri Lanka attacks

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DENVER — A Colorado man that was traveling to Sri Lanka on business has been confirmed dead by his company.

Dieter Kowalski was one of nearly 300 people killed in the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks that targeted churches and hotels.

Kowalski worked as a senior leader of the operational services team at Pearson, a major education publishing and assessment firm.

Colleagues who knew Dieter well talk about how much fun he was to be around, how big-hearted and full-spirited he was. 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. Dieter, they tell me, was never happier than cheer-leading (sic) for our customers and our company and inspiring people in the best way he knew how — by helping them to fix things and doing it with joy, happiness and grace. He was a man who took great pride in the purpose of our company — helping our students progress in their studies and their lives mattered to him.
Pearson CEO John Fallon

Kowalski is originally from Milwaukee, but was living in Denver.