Marjorie Kowalski Cole

Marjorie Kowalski Cole, age 56, died December 4, 2009 at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. She was born July 20, 1953 in Boston, the fifth of five children to Drs. Henry John Kowalski and Martha Gray Wilson Kowalski, both of whom preceded her in death.

Other than a few years Outside, Marjorie made her home in Alaska since 1966, when her widowed mother moved the family from Seattle. She earned a BA and an MA in English from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and an MLS in Library Science from the University of Washington.

She married Terrence Cole in 1977 and their son, Henry, was born in 1983. Their second son, Desmond, was born in 1991. She and Terrence divorced in 1997.

Marjorie married Pat Lambert, the love of her life, in July 2000.

She was a librarian at the Fish and Wildlife Library and the Alaska State Resources Library, both in Anchorage, and later at the Elmer E. Rasmuson library at UAF and the Noel Wien Public Library in Fairbanks. For a time she also was an instructor at UAF, teaching library science and English. She retired in 1999 to focus on writing.

She was a prodigious writer and was especially productive in the final decade of her life. Marjorie was active with a Fairbanks writers group, The Writer's League. Her literary efforts were recognized here and abroad, and she received numerous awards and prizes for her work. Writing poetry and short stories was a lifelong passion. The family fondly remembers her writing her first short story when she was 8. Her novel "Correcting the Landscape" won the 2004 Bellwether Prize, which honors socially and politically engaged fiction. The book was published by Harper Collins in 2006. A second novel, "A Spell on the Water," will be published posthumously as will a poetry collection "Inside, Outside, Morningside." More poetry will be appearing shortly in literary journals. Marjorie's poetry, essays, short stories and travel articles have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Commonweal and the National Catholic Reporter, among others. Marjorie was a voracious reader, frequently reading a book a day.

Marjorie had a strong sense of the natural world. Her writing reflects her deep passion for nature, the outdoors and the environment. She spent much of her childhood hiking and camping across the Pacific Northwest, and she had a special fondness for Kalaloch Beach, on Washington's Olympic Peninsula. Marjorie delighted in canoeing and kayaking, hiking and backpacking, and skiing to hot springs and remote mountain cabins. She spent countless hours tending her garden. She completed the Equinox Marathon several times. In 2002, with her husband, Pat, and son, Desmond, she walked 500 miles along the pilgrim path from France, across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela. Two years later, she and Pat extended this trek by walking another hundred miles, from Santiago to Finisterre on the Spanish coast. She traveled widely in Europe, Asia and North America. Ireland and Turkey were two favored destinations, and she was drawn repeatedly to Torch Lake in Michigan.

Marjorie was a student of scripture and was halfway through a ministry education program. She was sustained by a deep and abiding faith. An advocate for reform within the Catholic Church, she was an active participant in the national organization Call to Action, frequently participating in its national convention, and she founded Call to Action Alaska. She also was a Benedictine Oblate and a member of St. Raphael Church.

Always engaged with her community, she worked with the Literacy Council of Alaska, the Northern Alaska Environmental Center, the Alaska Peace Center and the Fairbanks Arts Association, among others. She loved music and had learned to play the banjo with Robin Dale Ford.

Marjorie is survived by her husband John Patrick Lambert; her sons Henry Liam Cole and his wife Shawna Lee Sastamoinen, Desmond Eugene Rynn Cole; their father Terrence Michael Cole; her sisters Marie Kowalski Boudreaux, Karen Kowalski and her husband John Reisinger, Louise Kowalski and her husband Richard Stolzberg; her brother Henry Paul Kowalski and his wife Alice Marie Grette; her brothers-in-law Joseph Lambert, Robert Lambert, and Michael Lambert; her sister-in-law Ann Lambert Melfi; numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts, and uncles; a large extended family, including the clan at Cozy Point; and many treasured friends. She was a hero of our time and she will be missed.

The family is grateful to Dr. Jacqueline Cox and staff at the Fairbanks Cancer Treatment Center for their competent care and many kindnesses.

A Mass of Resurrection, combined with remembrances of Marjorie and followed by a reception, will be held at St. Raphael Church in Fairbanks, at the intersection of Hagelbarger and the Old Steese, on Tuesday, December 8, at 7:30 p.m. All are invited. The celebrant will be Fr. Pat Berquist, assisted by co-celebrant Fr. Tim Sander. Donations in Marjorie's memory can be made to the Literacy Council of Alaska, the Northern Alaska Environmental Center, the Fairbanks Arts Association or Call to Action.

Her family can be reached at PO Box 114, Ester, AK, 99725.