Irwin Kolk

1928 - 2018

Irwin Kolk passed away of natural causes at the age of 89 on January 26, 2018.

The only child of Jacob and Ruth Kolk, Irwin Kolk was a product of New York City public education, graduating from Stuyvesant High School and City College of New York. While serving in the U.S. Army in the 1950s, he was assigned surveying work in Alaska and California.

Following in the footsteps of his father, who was the City Engineer of Brooklyn, Irwin Kolk chose a career in civil engineering. During his long and distinguished tenure with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, he was instrumental in the design of many of its facilities, including marine terminals, Newark Airport, the lower level of the George Washington Bridge and the "bathtub" of the World Trade Center.

Irwin Kolk was a fan of the Yankees, Shakespeare, classical music, and the opera.

After retiring from the PA, he and his wife Marcia [nee Sokoloff] moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, drawn by its opera, beautiful scenery and the opportunity for Marcia to continue her work as a teacher, weaver and quilter. There Irwin Kolk worked for the Southwest Association of Indian Affairs, which for nearly 100 years has promoted the work of Native American artists at its annual markets.

After more than 60 years of marriage, Marcia Kolk passed away in August, 2017. Irwin Kolk is survived by his beloved daughters Wendy Kolk and Nancy Smith, and their husbands Bruce Comen and Garrott Smith, respectively. He will be greatly missed by his nieces and nephews: Hon. Lisa A. Sokoloff, Edward Yutkowitz, Margaret Edelson, Stephen Edelson, Rachel Dobkowski, and Andrew P. Sokoloff, and cousins Robert and Jeanne Becker and Martin and Rabbi Shelley Kovar Becker.