Dieter Kowalski, a Denver man who was in Sri Lanka on business, was killed in suicide bombings shortly after arriving at his hotel on Sunday. Kowalski's employer shared the news in a letter.
Kowalski worked for Pearson, an education company, and was in Sri Lanka to troubleshoot problems with local engineering teams.
His boss, John Fallon, described Kowalski as a consummate co-worker.
"Colleagues who knew Dieter well talk about how much fun he was to be around, how big-hearted and full-spirited he was," Fallon wrote. "They tell of a man to whom we could give our ugliest and most challenging of engineering problems, knowing full well that he would jump straight in and help us figure it out."
Fallon encouraged employees of Pearson to honor Kowalski by embodying his love in their own lives and to "take extra care of each other."