<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1LL1CZ_0upQLotR00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1LL1CZ_0upQLotR00" width="650" height="433" ><figcaption>This photo from 2015 shows former sheriff Dale Kowalkowski (right) receiving a donation from Ron Peterson of Packaging Corporation of America. Kowalkowski retired in 2017 after 39 years with the Manistee County Sheriff's Office. (File photo) </figcaption></figure> Manistee residents are gathering this week to pay homage to a prominent public servant and a “man of faith” who died at the age of 67. Dale&nbsp;Kowalkowski died on Aug. 1, <a href="https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/manisteenews/name/dale-kowalkowski-obituary?pid=207372853" rel="nofollow"> according to his obituary published in the News Advocate on Tuesday. </a> Visitation is scheduled to take place from 4:30-6:30&nbsp;p.m. on Wednesday at Manistee Catholic Central, located at 1200 S. U.S. 31. Rosary praying starts at 6:30&nbsp;p.m. and prayer-memorial follows at 6:45 p.m. Mass of Christian burial service is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Thursday at Guardian Angels Catholic Church, located at 371 Fifth St. Internment is to follow. <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3xBdiy_0upQLotR00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3xBdiy_0upQLotR00" width="650" height="488" ><figcaption>The late Dale Kowalkowski is shown in his former role as Manistee County sheriff. He retired from the position on Jan. 1, 2017. (Manistee County Sheriff's Office photo) </figcaption></figure><h2 class="cci_subhead" title="CCI Subhead"><a class="chapter-anchor" id="longtimesheriff_1722951064345" tabindex="0"></a> Longtime sheriff </h2> Manistee County voters went to the ballot four times and chose Kowalkowski as the county’s sheriff. He <a href="https://www.manisteenews.com/local-news/article/Kowalkowski-reflects-on-leaving-sheriff-position-14267118.php" rel="nofollow"> served the county for 16 years in that role </a> and eight as its undersheriff. He retired as sheriff on Jan. 1, 2017. Former Sheriff John&nbsp;O’Hagan knew Kowalkowski from their time at the Manistee County Sheriff’s Office together. O’Hagan met Kowalkowski in 1989 when his career started at the sheriff’s office and O’Hagan later became undersheriff for Kowalkowski in 2007. "Then, I was his&nbsp;undersheriff for nine years, up until he retired and then I ran for sheriff,” O'Hagan said. O’Hagan described Kowalkowski as always having been a person finely tuned to serving others. He recounted an example of&nbsp;Kowalkowski’s dedication to service in 1992 when the county had financial issues and the road patrol department was laid off. “So, the then-sheriff Ed&nbsp;Haik and Dale could have just sat behind a desk and did nothing. But they decided ‘No, we’re not doing that,’” O’Hagan said. “They actually got the boots on, got the gear back on, went back on the street … They served the people … even though there was no road patrol.” When the former sheriff&nbsp;Haik died at the age of 73 in 2022, <a href="https://www.manisteenews.com/local-news/article/Manistee-County-mainstay-Haik-leaves-behind-16773565.php" rel="nofollow"> Kowalkowski told the News Advocate </a> about the 1992 layoffs. Kowalkowski had said they “were a small group, but we got a lot done.” "... It was a controversial time in the county's history when the county board decided they didn't have any money for a law enforcement division, so they shut down all the law enforcement services from the sheriff's office,”&nbsp;Kowalkowski had said. “When that happened, Ed and I were together, and I was his undersheriff at that time. We worked hard to put our road patrol back on the road.” Kowalkowski had said that there was no road patrol for about seven or eight months. “... And he and I would work the road together just to have a county presence out there,” he had recalled. To O'Hagan, that move spoke volumes of Kowalkowski’s character. O’Hagan said he and Kowalkowski worked as a team during their tenure together as undersheriff and sheriff. “As I was his&nbsp;undersheriff, my job was the day-to-day operations but it was always (done through) his vision, it was his way of doing things coupled with me running the place,” O’Hagan said. The dual roles of&nbsp;sheriff-undersheriff responsibilities meant O’Hagan had a chance to get to know Kowalkowski well and not just as his boss, but also as a person and a mentor. “Dale&nbsp;Kowalkowski took me in over time, I started to grow. When I first met him, I thought this guy is kind of thick-skinned, kind of hard-nosed. But I was young,” he said. “I never dreamed he’d be asking me to be his undersheriff, but our relationship flourished.” O'Hagan served as undersheriff for 10 years, prior to assuming the position as sheriff. He was <a href="https://www.manisteenews.com/local-news/article/O-Hagan-to-retire-after-31-years-14867958.php" rel="nofollow"> Manistee County’s sheriff from 2017 to 2019 </a> . O’Hagan said his wife, family and Kowalkowski were his top supporters during elections when he sought the sheriff position. Kowalkowski cared about Manistee County, O’Hagan said. “He coupled that two ways, one in his professional responsibility with work, he was a certain way. And then outside of that, he was the same person but now he just took off the professional hat and he was more personable involved in the community,” he said. <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2n9n0J_0upQLotR00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2n9n0J_0upQLotR00" width="650" height="410" ><figcaption>Dale Kowalkowski was the former Manistee County sheriff, Manistee Catholic Central football coach and prominent public servant who died at the age of 67 on Aug. 1, 2024. (Provided photo/Oak Grove Funeral Home) </figcaption></figure> O’Hagan said this took form in Kowalkowski’s many roles such as coach or referee. “He was a person who wanted to see his community thrive and he wanted to see people given opportunities,” he said. Humble, analytical and passionate were also terms O’Hagan used to describe Kowalkowski. “Communities are tied together with some of the values that Dale has,” he said. “We could all take a page from his book.” Other leaders outside of&nbsp;Manistee County also took notice of how Kowalkowski impacted the region. In December 2016, Michigan Sen. Darwin&nbsp;Booher (R-Evart) presented&nbsp;Kowalkowski with a special tribute signed by the former governor before he left office as sheriff. “He's somebody everybody looked up to,"&nbsp;Booher had said. "You couldn't come into this county without knowing that people knew who he was; that's respect. Look how many times he was elected. That deserves special recognition, and I wanted it before he left." Kowalkowski was the sheriff who hired the current Manistee County sheriff, Brian Gutowski, in 2007. Gutowski called Kowalkowski a bit of a visionary who made efforts along the way that had lasting impacts. “His main focus in everything that he did as the sheriff was to provide the absolute best quality services he could to the people that we protected on the streets and to provide the very best service we could in the jail,”&nbsp;Gutowski said. Gutowski credited Kowalkowski with starting the county’s 24-hour road patrol service and consistent courthouse security efforts, as well as being instrumental in gaining renovations at the sheriff’s office and jail facility. Kowalkowski was an officer for 39 years. Gutowski said he is looking forward to carrying on what&nbsp;Kowalkowski started as sheriff. <figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3eelD7_0upQLotR00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3eelD7_0upQLotR00" width="650" height="433" ><figcaption>About 30 members of the Manistee Catholic Central class of 1974 celebrated a milestone reunion at First Street Beach Lions Pavilion in Manistee on June 29, 2024. (File photo) </figcaption></figure><h2 class="cci_subhead" title="CCI Subhead"><a class="chapter-anchor" id="catholicties_1722951044401" tabindex="0"></a> Catholic ties </h2> O’Hagan called Kowalkowski “a man of faith.” “That got him through so many different obstacles along the way,” O’Hagan said. Kowalkowski’s obituary published in the Aug. 6 edition of the News Advocate states that “Manistee Catholic Central was a huge part of” his life. He was <a href="https://www.manisteenews.com/news/article/mcc-class-1974-celebrates-milestone-reunion-19545613.php" rel="nofollow"> part of the MCC class of 1974 </a> , and attended the 50-year milestone reunion at Manistee’s First Street Beach last month. He continued being involved with the school after graduation. Kowalkowski had a list of roles with MCC including football coach, athletic director and the Manistee Catholic Central Schools Foundation president. His obituary notes that he started coaching Sabers football in 1994 through 2012 and was known as “Coach&nbsp;K.” Manistee Catholic Central’s class of 2024 was the final class of graduates as the school closed after 60 years. Kowalkowski had a vocal role in <a href="https://www.manisteenews.com/news/article/mcc-alums-families-still-trying-save-catholic-19435778.php" rel="nofollow"> efforts to save the school from closing </a> . MCC had accrued over $630,000 of uncollected tuition from 2014 to 2023 and had incurred a spending deficit of more than $4.1 million, according to previous News Advocate reporting. Kowalkowski was the <a href="https://www.manisteenews.com/news/article/fundraiser-aims-fund-mcc-s-2024-25-school-year-18677945.php" rel="nofollow"> MCC Foundation president leading the way for efforts like fundraising </a> and sending thousands of letters to supporters intending to prevent the school’s closure. </div></body>

Mountain View, CA

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Law enforcement leaders share memories of late sheriff Dale Kowalkowski

“Communities are tied together with some of the values that Dale (had). ... We could all take a page from his book.”