Michael Nowak Obituary

Nowak
Michael Nowak
February 3, 1940
September 14, 2024

Professor Michael Nowak, otherwise known as Ekim, was born February 3, 1940 in Wiesbaden, Germany. Ekim's first 6.5 years were spent in Germany during WWII with his father being forced into a labor camp in the later half of the war. His family was able to come to the US in 1947, settling first in Louisiana. In 1950 they drove across the United States to Los Angeles, from where they sailed to Hawaii for Ekim's next 3 years. The McBride Sugar Plantation on Kauai seemed a perfect place to grow up, but the family moved again in 1953, this time to Portland, Oregon. It was a shock to go from balmy Hawaii to cold, rainy Oregon, but after a summer in the Cascade Mountains and campgrounds along the rugged coast, a new adaptation was complete. His undergraduate and graduate studies were at the University of Oregon, at which he could continue to climb and ski in the Cascades. He joined the National Ski Patrol in 1958 as a college freshman and remained an alumni member until the very end. Many years were put in as an avalanche and ski mountaineering instructor. One of his sayings was, "I like going uphill because I have more control."
Ekim's love and work in Alaska began when he was a junior in college, joining one of his professors doing archeological work on the Alaskan peninsula. He fell in love with the state and continued his work there into the 1970's. In 1973, he spent a sabbatical in Meykoruk, a community on Nunivak Island, studying the economics of contemporary Eskimo subsistence. He continued to visit that small community of Meykoruk more than 50 times to update information on socio-economic conditions and renew friendships. Although, as time passed, less and less of the people he first worked with were still around.
Ekim began teaching at Colorado College in 1965. His nickname Ekim started here when there were two Mikes in the Anthropology Department. A two month long "Field Archeology" class with small groups of students doing doing work in southeastern Colorado was one of his favorite teaching experiences. They learned to live and work together, camping without running water or electricity for a month while working at archeological sites. In some ways they were living like the people they were studying! It was here that a well kept secret revealed itself-Ekim's poetry. Only students in his field classes got to hear him read poems after the evening "fireside" chat following dinner.
Ekim's lifelong motto was "never drive when you can ride". The bicycle remained his essential transportation means throughout his life. The commute from his home in Manitou Springs to his office at Colorado College permitted a 10 to 20 mile ride each day, as many "long-cuts" could be taken depending on time, weather, and mood. He also enjoyed Pikes Peak and its' trail system because "it's right in your backyard". He would sometimes bicycle to a friends house not far from the Barr Trailhead, hike the peak, and in the evening, bike back home.
His "sneaky" sense of humor was often missed by those who always took Ekim completely literally. He read widely and had a broad range of interests and knowledge. His modesty was such that you might never know about his range and depth of knowledge without seeing him "in action" (making a presentation or teaching a course).
The effort that was probably most meaningful to him was his poetry. He has left us his book "Moments of My Mind, 50 years of Poetic Thoughts", which provides insights into his mind and the way he dealt with people, issues, moods, emotions, and relationships.
There will be a memorial service at Colorado College on November 13 at 11:00am.