Mark Joseph Mankowski

Mark Joseph Mankowski, age 68, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin passed away the evening of July 23, 2022 surrounded by his children. Mark was born May 30, 1954 and raised in South Milwaukee. He graduated from St. Francis DeSales Seminary High School in 1972, and went on to attend Marquette University, where he would meet the first love of his life, Barbara, with whom he would share 21 wonderful years and 4 beautiful children, before she passed from cancer in 1999. Mark was an avid lover of languages and travel, and he shared his passions through his work as an English as a Second Language teacher at Milwaukee Area Technical College for over 30 years. It was through this work that he was able to meet the second love of his life, Marta, who traveled all the way from Brazil to happily spend the last 21 years of his life with him.

Mark will be remembered for his enterprising and adventure-filled life. From living in Paris as a young college student, to enduring the political climate of 1980s Poland to hone his English teaching skills, and taking countless trips across oceans to make new connections and show his children the world, his love of sharing global culture has made a lasting impression on those who knew him best.

This love for travel extended to all modes of transportation, as he was notorious for swapping cars out seasonally. Great family memories were made during road trips in the Volkswagen Eurovan, until he traded it in for a much more sensible car for a family of 6, a turbo Beetle, in which even more memories were made zipping along highways. But he really lived out his need for speed in his beloved Mini Coopers that he traveled cross-country in during his retirement, a feat which he proudly discussed with all who were lucky to know him.

For those who called him Teacher Mark, he was the wise-cracking, friendly face in the classroom there to breakdown all the contradictory elements of the English language for them. The respect he earned from his students was made clear by the numerous gifts and visits he would regularly receive. He was tremendously proud of his career at MATC.

During his life, Mark was blessed with the gift of love from two amazing women. With Barbara, he learned how to be a caring husband and father, and how to face adversity with strength. Meeting Marta helped him recover from a broken heart, and they shared a unique relationship that brought joy back to the whole family.

And to his children, he was the man who showed them how to live a good life – how to seek truth, show compassion, raise a family, and to never be afraid to take risks on big dreams.

Mark is preceded in death by his father, Leo, mother, Evelyn (née Sucharski), and first wife Barbara (née Kvasnica). He is survived by his wife, Marta Braga Torres, children Michael, Andrew (Ashley), Matthew (Emily), and Annelise, grandchildren Evelyn, Rudy, Theodore, Bobbi, and Forrest, brother-in-law Gary Kvasnica (Kay Wegner), and many other relatives and friends.

A visitation will be held Friday, July 29th, from 9-11am at St. Veronica Catholic Church (353 E Norwich St, Milwaukee) with a Mass of Christian Burial to take place at 11am.