Mary Nowak

Mary Margaret (Fish) Nowak, born Sept. 6, 1925, in Florida, New York, died Saturday, September 27, 2014 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, after a long illness of Alzheimer's. Mary was a loving mother, devoted wife and caring grandmother. She was 89.

Mary’s parents were Frank and Mary G. Fish. She has three sisters: Frances Niemcewicz, Julia Sikorski and Eleanor Faliski, and a brother, Frank Fish, now deceased.

She graduated S.S. Seward High School in Florida and married S. A. (Tony) Nowak on Oct. 3, 1948.

Mary moved with her husband to several countries in Europe and Asia with his military career.

In 1961 Tony’s last station was at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

Mary started working at the research and development laboratories in Night Vision at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, until she retired in 1990.

Mary moved to Colorado Springs in 1996 and was a member St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church of Colorado Springs.

Mary is survived by her husband of 66 years, Lt. Col. (ret.) S.A. (Tony) Nowak. Her three children are: Kent E. Nowak, married to Martha Lynn Saunders in Olathe, Kansas; Jean A. Birk and her husband Marty Birk of Lake George, Colorado; and Carol N. Congdon, married to Richard Congdon, in Colorado Springs. She has two grandchildren; John A. Nowak married to Jami Porter and resides in Atlanta, Georgia; Kyle M. Nowak, married to Lauren Phillip, of Denver; and one great-grandchild, Dorothy Mabel Nowak, recently born on Aug. 15, 2014 to John and Jami.

Mary will be buried in the Nowak family plot in her childhood home of Florida, N.Y.

A viewing will held Saturday, Oct. 11 from 8 to 10 a.m., at T. S. Purta Funeral Home, 22 Glenmere Ave., Florida.

Immediately following will be a Mass of Christian Burial to be held at St. Joseph Catholic Church at 10 a.m., followed by the burial at St. Joseph Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to Alzheimer's Association in Mary's name to Alzheimer’s Association – 2315 Bott Ave., Colorado Springs, CO 80904, (719) 266-8773, www.alz.org.

To send a condolence online or for directions please go to www.purtafuneralhome.com.