Class: 1974
Major: Asian Studies
Residence: Hudson, WI
Deceased: January 29, 2011
Alumni survivors: Michael Coomes, M.D. ’72 P05 P09 W74 (Former Spouse), Mr. Albert M. Lock ’76 (Sibling), Ms. Caitlin C. Lock Coomes ’05 (Child), Mr. Alexander M. L. Coomes ’09 (Child)
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Kathleen and I had 40 amazing years together after falling in love at Carleton. She danced with Mary Easter and company at Carleton, then moved to the Twin Cities to continue dancing professionally. We married on Mai Fete island in 1978 and soon after headed east to Hanover NH immersing ourselves in New England life while completing a finance MBA at the Dartmouth Tuck School. We fell in love with the culture and made lifelong friends along the way. On returning to the Midwest we found that the challenges of balancing our respective corporate and professional lives while raising three kids was both intense and the best of times. The pain was worth the gain until Kathleen decided it wasn't and she pulled the plug on her high flying corporate career with that familiar refrain "It's time for the next chapter." Something told me I'd be looking at a very different new job! Our three kids were at an age where we felt exposure to another less developed culture would likely have significant beneficial long-term effects. We all spoke Spanish and played soccer so we pulled up stakes and headed to Patagonia in rural southern Chile to live and work with the indigenous Mapuche people there. I staffed a small two doc rural clinic and she developed several successful entrepreneurial business plans for Mapuche women to help them gain financial independence. No doubt her efforts had the greater long-term benefit for them. After a year of homeschooling, hand kneading countless loaves of bread, bathing and washing clothes in the river without internet or cell phones we decided to return to so-called civilization. We had grown close to our “vecinos” who had opened their homes and hearts to our family so it was a difficult goodbye. That experience ultimately led to Kathleen's decision to spend the next decade of her professional life working for the betterment of disadvantaged peoples in Guatemala with the NGO Common Hope which is based in St. Paul. I tell this story because Kathleen didn't have the chance to share it. She died of breast cancer eleven years ago. Along the way our kids, two of whom are Carls, have either returned for study or service to those indigenous populations. It remains a strong affirmation for our decision.