Joan Marie Pesek

Joan Marie Pesek, 66, of Weston, passed away Friday, June 7, 2019, at the Miriam Boyd Parlin Hospice Residence in Wayland, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. She was born May 14, 1953 in New York, NY, daughter of the late Daniel J. and the late Mary Nekarda Pesek. She is survived by her husband of 37 years, Daniel R. Marshak, Ph.D.; two sons, Michael P. Marshak, Ph.D. and his fiancée, Lauren Lambert of Boulder, CO, and Andrew G. Marshak and his fiancée, Chelsie Brewer of Cincinnati, OH; two sisters, Janet A. Pesek and her husband, Lee D. Hess of Morton, IL, and Barbara Megiel and her husband, Robert of New Port Richey, FL; brother-in-law, David W. Marshak, Ph.D. and his wife, Pat Ward of Houston, TX; five nieces, Jennifer Hess, J.D., Kristin Hess Byrnes and her husband, Daniel Byrnes, Lauren Hess, Kathryn Hess, Andrea Megiel; three nephews, Jonathan Marshak, William Marshak, Daniel Megiel and his wife, Christina Marlowe, Pharm.D. Joan was raised in New York, NY, and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from The College of Mount St. Vincent, Riverdale, NY, and her Master’s Degree in Public Administration from New York University, New York, NY. She went on to earn her Teaching Credential (Secondary School) from New York State. Ms. Pesek previously worked as a Laboratory Research Technician and Laboratory Manager of Howard Hughes Medical Institute of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, The Rockefeller University in New York, NY, and New York University in New York, NY. Joan was a Certified Fund-Raising Executive and was active in fundraising efforts for various organizations, including Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN; Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY; The Columbus Center, Baltimore, MD; Mt. Sinai Hospital, Baltimore, MD; Irvine Nature Center in Owings Mills, MD; Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, MD. Ms. Pesek served as Board Member for the Camping & Education Foundation of Cincinnati, OH, and Longfellow’s Wayside Inn of Sudbury, MA. Joan was loved and cherished by her family and many friends, and she will be sorely missed for her way of making others feel better through her calm, philosophical wisdom and advice. She enjoyed travel and her experiences living and visiting a variety of places in the U.S. and overseas, making lifelong friendships along the way. Joan delighted in trips to the ocean and spending time with her family at the beach in Amagansett. Joan was very interested in cooking, and we will all miss her culinary skills in the kitchen and the many holidays and meals we shared together. Joan also enjoyed swimming with her pool friends, gardening, watching wild birds, and playing Mahjong with her friends in Shanghai and Weston.