Rev. Michael R. Kolb, S.J.

Rev. Michael R Kolb, S.J., was called to eternal life on March 8, 2023 at St. Camillus Jesuit Community in Milwaukee after a battle with cancer. He was the 3rd of four sons born on 4/20/52 to Edward and Rosemary Kolb. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1971 and was ordained at Gesu Church in Milwaukee in 1982.

He graduated from Edgewood High School in 1970 and attended the University of Wisconsin- Madison for a year before entering the Jesuit novitiate in St. Paul, MN. He attended St. Thomas University and then St. Louis University where he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy. Soon after, he was assigned to Sogang University in Seoul, Korea for 3 years where he taught English, eventually becoming the head of the English Department. After returning to the States, he attended Weston School of Theology in Cambridge, MA, and obtained Master’s degrees in Theology and Divinity. Upon taking his final vows, he moved to Milwaukee and resided in various Jesuit Communities. He later earned a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

He taught theology at Marquette University High School and was the Dean of Students, Counselor, Football Coach and Director of Drama. After leaving Marquette, he became interested in India and lived there for four years while researching the Dimasa tribe. This interest led him to enter the PhD program at Assam Don Bosco University in Guwahati where he received his Doctoral degree in East Indian Studies. Based on his research, he authored, “Out Of the Hills: Young Dimasas and Traditional Religion”, his critical and defining work on this northeastern tribe. After returning from India, he worked as a grant writer and editor at the Provincial Office.

Because of his love of India, he inspired his brothers and friends to help finance a computer lab and basketball court at Sacred Heart School in Gunjung, India which he dedicated to his father. He loved theatre and scripted and directed a number of plays both at Marquette and in India. He was an accomplished storyteller and traveler whose dry wit and humility will be missed by all who knew him. He was preceded in death by his parents, Edward and Rosemary Kolb. He is survived by his brothers William (Jill), Thomas (Linda), and Jack (Barbara), numerous nieces and nephews and the Jesuit Community.

The family wishes to thank his caretakers at St. Camillus and the Jesuit Community for their care and support of Mike. A Memorial Mass will be held on Tuesday, March 28, at 11:00 a.m. in the Jesuit chapel at St. Camillus.  Memorials can be made to the St. Camillus Jesuit Community, 10201 W. Wisconsin Ave, Wauwatosa, WI 53226.