Millicent Koski

1933 - 2025

Millicent Koski
Millicent Barton Koski passed away on July 30th, at the age of 92. She was born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, the first of five children. Millie, child of the Ocean State that she was, loved the beaches year round. She was a self-taught naturalist and amateur ornithologist, able to identify most of the plants of New England and most of the birds, both by sight and by sound, which made walks with her on the beach, and in the woods, an education. After college, Millie went on to become an elementary school teacher, an occupation that she loved. The stories of her interactions with little children were endlessly entertaining; then, along came grandchildren. Millie taught her last class and instead of preparing lesson plans, she could be found strolling about New York City with her new grandson. Millie had many talents, but as she would often jokingly lament, cooking was not one of them. She was however an excellent seamstress, and her horticultural powers were uncanny. She could coax life out of the most hopeless of neglected plants, and the porch was often filled to bursting with her many successes. Millie was also an insatiable reader, a nature photographer, a great fan of the theater and the opera, and with her husband, Ed, a sailor. Boating season would find them out on the water and the rest of the time, they traveled. She would return with tales of the wildflowers of Poland, the moose sightings of Alaska, and the folk art of Russia. Millie died just thirteen days after her husband, and they will be buried together. Her two daughters, Melinda Knoerk and Susan Zucker, her son-in-law, Steven Zucker, and her three grandchildren, Noah, Avery, and Hannah, and all the people whose lives she touched will mourn her loss, but are also grateful for the time they had with her. A funeral for Millie and her husband will be held at the St. John's Polish National Catholic Church, 23 Golway St., in Manchester, on Saturday, September 27th, at 11:00am.