Caroline Sylvia (Reichardt) Nowack grew up in the suburbs of Hammond, Indiana. Her father worked for a Chicago-based corn products company, and her mother was a Nebraska farm girl who had moved to the Big City. Caroline’s childhood consisted mainly of studies, ballet lessons, and traveling vacations, as well as summer visits to her grandparents’ farm. She graduated from Morton High School, 4th in a class of over 400 and twice a member of the state championship debate team. At Northwestern University she double majored in philosophy and creative writing, completing a novella for honors credit in Independent Study. She was working in downtown Chicago as editor for an insurance trade magazine when she married Ger Nowack, who was finishing his PhD. at N.U. at the time.
When the young couple moved to Bartlesville, Ok. and Ger joined Phillips Petroleum Co., Caroline got involved in the local art scene. She began studying pottery and painting and became active in several arts groups. As the mother of two children, for a time she produced less artwork herself, but she continued art-related volunteer work. Over the years she held offices and board positions in key cultural organizations, and she designed and implemented a volunteer art appreciation program used in every elementary and middle school classroom in the area. With her daughter and son grown, she resumed painting in acrylics and showing her work. In 1995 Caroline was the recipient of the city’s Arts and Humanities Award for Outstanding Public Contributions to the Arts.
In 1996 Caroline and Ger moved to a lakeside home in Loveland, Co. Much to the delight of her athletic husband, she took up hiking, biking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and kayaking. The couple travels extensively and remain best friends after decades of marriage. Caroline’s art work is shown by Gallery East in Loveland and reflects her current interest in mixed-media collage.
