Marie Ann Vavrik

Vavrik, Marie Ann "Marian"
79, of Sun City West, AZ passed away on April 15, 2013. Marian was vivacious and strong and created a legacy of love for her family. She was a graduate of Illinois Teacher's College (now Northern Illinois University), Morton Junior College (Cicero, IL), and Morton High School (Cicero, IL). At college, she was a charter member of Alpha Omega Pi sorority. After graduating college, she was a legal secretary, court reporter and grade school teacher. Above all, Marian loved being a teacher to her children and to thousands of other children in Naperville who attended her nursery school classes and story hours at Nichols Library, at which she worked as a children's librarian for 17 years. She was a voracious reader and world traveler (over 25 countries visited), and imparted her love of reading and travel to her family. Marian was fluent in Czech and passionate about sharing her Czech heritage with her friends, children, and grandchildren. She was an officer of the Czech-Slovak Club of America and founding patron of the Czech Center Museum Houston. Marian was a devoted wife to her husband, Bill, whom she met in 1951 in Stickney, Illinois. They were married in 1957 and lived in Brookfield and Naperville, Illinois until moving to Arizona in 1999. Marian was mother to three children: Dr. Diane Crater, Carole Lopez, and Steve Vavrik. Her devotion was evidenced by her high expectations for their education and hundreds of shuttle trips to Girl Scout meetings, Little League games, and dance, swimming, tennis, and piano lessons. She is also survived by seven grandchildren (one predeceased) and dozens of friends.
A celebration of Marian's life will be held Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 10.00 am at Desert Palms Presbyterian Church, 13459 W. Stardust Blvd., Sun City West, AZ 85375-2548, (623)584-4602. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Czech Center Museum Houston, Attn: Marie Vavrik Memorial Fund, 4920 San Jacinto St., Houston, TX 77004, 713-528-2060 or online at www.czechcenter.org.