Mariana Musta Nowinski

Mariana Musta Nowinski passed away peacefully on the morning November 26, 2025 in Vero Beach, FL. She was 87 years old. She filled her life with love of family and friends, travel, art, literature, music, cooking and humor.

Mariana was born in 1938 in Cleveland, Ohio to Walter and Anna (Catana) Musta.

She attended Lakewood High School, then Michigan State University. She returned to Cleveland in 1959 and married Jerome J. Nowinski, then in 1960 completed her Bachelor of Arts at Western Reserve University. Mariana was a talented pianist and singer who, while attending college in Michigan, performed with Noel Paul Stookey (the “Paul” of Peter, Paul and Mary).

In Cleveland, she worked for several years as an event planner for Higbee’s, which enabled her the opportunity to meet and work with one of her idols, Julia Child. She volunteered for various organizations, including the local PBS station WVIZ, where in the mid-1980s Betty Cope tapped her to host a new innovative tv show “Signature”, which ran for 3 seasons.

Mariana and her husband Jerry moved to Milwaukee, WI, where Mariana enjoyed volunteering as a docent at the Milwaukee Art Museum for several years. They both enjoyed also living in Vero Beach, FL which they first discovered in the 1970s and where they eventually bought a home. She and Jerry traveled extensively, and Mariana was always sure to bring a piece of artwork back from wherever they roamed. She filled her home with art, music, books and laughter. She was also a very talented self-taught chef.

Mariana is survived by her son Douglas (Jane) Nowinski, her daughter Leslie (Joe Perry) Nowinski, granddaughters Catherine, Isabella and Abigail Nowinski, five nieces and nephews as well as her beloved brother-in-law, Florin Radu Galdau.

A private celebration of her life took place in Vero Beach shortly after her passing. Those who wish to honor Mariana’s memory are encouraged to make a donation to Visiting Nurses Association, an organization which she supported and which supported her during her final days.