Joan C. Kowalkowski

A Memorial Mass will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 21, 2018 at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in St. Cloud for Joan C. Kowalkowski, 88, of St. Cloud who passed away with family by her side on Tuesday, June 12, 2018.  Reverend Thomas Knoblach will officiate. Interment will take place in Calvary Cemetery in St. Cloud.  Visitation will take place one hour prior to services on Thursday at the Church.

Joan was born on June 15, 1930 in Rockville to Herbert and Frances (Dockendorf) Schneider.  She had fond memories of growing up in Rockville with her 24 first cousins and three sisters.  Joan was fiercely independent yet her heart was full of love and compassion for others.  Joan graduated from Tech High School in 1948. Being independent was important for Joan as having been one of the only women at her young age to purchase her own car which allowed her to move out of Rockville and move to Minneapolis. Joan worked as an executive assistant to the Owner of the Spring Company in downtown Mpls. She learned great skills in business and bookkeeping.  Joan married Norbert Kowalkowski in 1954 in St. Cloud and continued to utilize her administrative skills to work at Kowalkowski Real Estate and Insurance. While raising her three boys, she continued to work and helped establish her husbands’ business ventures, The Coliseum Dance Hall and Char-Broiler up until he passed in 1980. After this, Joan placed all her love and energy into her grandchildren, family, friends and St. Cloud Community.

Joan was community minded for over 65 years; she had many good friends and family in the St. Cloud Community. Some of her favorite Organizations included the St. Cloud Greeters, The Reading Room Society and organizing the Chanhassen Dinner Theater trips, The Holy Spirit Parish, Granite City bowling league, bridge groups, the St. Cloud Boat and Snowmobile Club, traveling with her many friends, the St. Steven’s mission group. She made new friends throughout her life. 

Joan was beautiful inside and out and would do anything for her friends and family. Joan was an extrovert and loved people; she had an extremely pleasant personality. She was non-judgmental and people were attracted to her pleasant disposition.  She deflected attention from herself and was content making others feel like the most important person in her presence.  

She enjoyed spending her summers on Big Watab Lake, traveling with her husband on cross country car trips. She also traveled yearly with her family and grandchildren over the last 15 years.  She would pick her grandchildren up from school and activities, as well as friends from bridge and events, and spent time in the community that she loved until the last few months of her life. 

We will always remember Joan as a kind soul and “Classy Lady”; I believe so many people respected and enjoyed Joan’s company because they could sense that she sincerely cared about them in an uplifting way. We will not forget this caring, strong, independent woman. She created life time bonds and touched many lives in her community. Her soul is now free.

She is survived by her children, David Kowalkowski of Deephaven, Kenneth Kowalkowski of San Dimas, CA and Dr. Thomas (Stacy) Kowalkowski of St. Cloud, eight grandchildren; Greta, Clara, Kristoff, Sofia, Tristan, Gloria, Viktor & Nikolai, one great-grandchild Liam and sisters; Doris Smith, Renee (Patrick) Buttweiler and Barbara (David) Guggenberger.