Lori Ann Kowalski, 68, of State College, died Saturday, January 18, 2025, at her home surrounded by her loving husband Joseph, their three dogs, Andy, Scout and Bowtie and her beloved, lifelong friend Susan Mull. Lori was overcome by the cumulative symptoms of her 8+ year battle with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) with which she was diagnosed in 2016. She was an unrelenting warrior in her constant struggle against that affliction.
Lori was born on June 1, 1956 in Pittsburgh, PA, the eldest daughter of the late Donald Stephen and Elizabeth Ann (nee Smith) Watson, who preceded her in death in 2010 and 2017, respectively. On November 20, 1993 she married Joseph M. Kowalski, of Erie, PA, who survives.
Lori was the oldest of 8 siblings and is survived by three sisters: Susan Landes and her husband, Steven of Lebanon, PA, Kathleen Frazier and her husband, Terry of Farmington Hills, MI and Patricia DeVita and her husband James of Indianola, PA: and four brothers, Steven Watson and his wife Jodi of DuBois, PA, Michael Watson and his wife Apryl of Claridge, PA, Donald Watson and his wife Karen of Canton, MI and Jonathan Watson and his wife Angela of Holt, MO. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews.
As the oldest of eight children, she enjoyed assisting her beloved Mum Elizabeth (“Betty”) Ann in caring-for and helping raise her younger siblings throughout much of her lifetime.
Lori was a 1974 graduate of Gateway High School in Monroeville, PA and was the first in her family to venture-out and attend University, earning both her Bachelors and Masters degrees in Clinical Nutrition at West Virginia University and the University of Pittsburgh, respectively. She enjoyed aquatic-sports, especially competitive synchronized swimming in her high-school and college years.
Lori began her career in various Nutrition and Food Service positions in hospitals in Charleston, Wheeling and Martinsburg WV, eventually moving to the Nutrition Department of West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA, specializing in supporting the Burn-Center and Oncology units there. She later moved to the Childrens’ Hospital of Pittsburgh at which she supported the Neo-natal intensive care unit. Lori’s absolute first love in her various clinical roles in her career was supporting and caring-for neo-natal and newborn special care patients.
She moved to CT in 1992 and served in the New-born Special Care Unit of YALE-New Haven Hospital through 1994, at which time she and her husband moved to live and work in Munich, Germany from 1994 – 1996, While there, she was a medical English translator of specialty articles for publication in English-language periodicals at the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry in Munich.
Upon returning to the U.S. she resumed working at YALE-New Haven Hospital, eventually returning to her native Pittsburgh in 2002 to again support the Childrens’ Hospital of Pittsburgh pediatric small-bowel transplantation program.
And, through “thick and thin”, Lori was a HARD-CORE, devoted, life-long fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Let’s Go Bucs! Lori’s and Joseph’s first date was a Pirates game in 1982! (“Nuf said”!) Lori and Joe had the pleasure of attending one spring-training Pirates’ game in Bradenton, FL in March, 2020, the day before COVID put an end to the baseball season. We were still like kids in a candy store!
We will hold a visitation in Lori’s honor at the Koch Funeral Home, 2401 South Atherton Street, State College, PA on Thursday, February 13, from 1 – 3 PM. A memorial service will follow at the funeral home, with Jackie Naginey Hook officiating. Also, please join us for a toast in Lori’s honor at Boal City Brewing, 281 Old Boalsburg Road (322 E) after the service.
We will also be hosting a “Celebration of Life” to honor Lori at a time in late March in the Pittsburgh area. The date, time and place are still TBD. Please check the Koch Funeral Home website for details.
Lastly, please continue to remember Lori in your head and heart. Our grief will recede in time but may never completely disappear. We will always, however, remember the sweet, joyous and happy times that Lori gave us and that we shared with her. Those will forever prevail.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Centre County PAWS Animal Rescues and Adoptions, 1401 Trout Road, State College, PA 16801 at https://www.centrecountypaws.org or CVIM – Centre Volunteers in Medicine, 2026 Sandy Drive, State College, PA 16803 at https://www.cvim.net Thank you for your consideration!