Alice Marek

Alice T. Marek, age 88, built a beautiful life and legacy in the New Prague, MN area. She went home to be with our Lord and Savior while temporarily residing in the care of her son, Tom, and his wife, Tawnya. She transitioned into her new heavenly body to join the company of all those who have gone before her in the late evening hours, Saturday, March 22, 2025.

Every wish she had for her final moments on earth were honored by God’s grace and for His glory. She was at perfect peace in her home surrounded by the love and in the unceasing care of her adoring and eternally devoted family. In addition, her ducks (in turns), her dog, and her cat kept constant vigil until her final breath.

Alice was born third and last in line May 7, 1936, to Joseph and Anna Flicek in Helena Township. As much as it has been said, we often save the best for last, she cherished a special relationship with her eldest sibling, Marcy, and her brother, Dick. The latter of which she faithfully corresponded with every Sunday evening while he was in the military. She often spoke of how much she enjoyed receiving his humor-bent missives.

Alice was a cheerful giver who embodied the self-sacrificial agape love in accordance with the example set forth by our Lord incarnate. She took the time to express her final wishes many months prior to her passing following which she also went on to share her enthusiasm for being reunited with her loved ones who had gone before her. While listening patiently to the extensive list of names that Alice counted among those saints, her primary caregiver of the last eighteen months kept hoping she would name her husband, Milton. When Alice got to the end of the list, her caregiver asked if dad had a change of address and whether we needed to update our files. Alice/ mom, looking somewhat perplexed, turned to her compatriot and quickly added his name to the end of the list.

Alice often commented that she enjoyed a very full life at the center of which was God, family, friends, pets/ animals, civic/ veteran organizations, travel, clubs, and a wide variety of hobbies and interests. She was a member of St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church, the New Prague Czech Heritage Club, and a 50+ year member of the Montgomery VFW Women’s Auxiliary.
Alice was also an avid reader with eclectic tastes. In fact, it might be said that she was secretly in competition with the Library of Congress to see who had more tomes on hand in paper form at any given time.

She displayed great civic pride and was excited to vote in the most recent presidential election via her assigned representative. She always paid honor to the service and sacrifice of our veterans, many of her family and friends being counted among them. She was over the moon to see the New Prague Veterans’ Memorial established in town and frequently visited the site.

She loved to travel. When her children were young they took family trips every summer to many national parks, monuments, forests, etc. When her children speak of their fondest memories, they often refer to those experiences as being among the best. There is not a state in the entire United States, including and especially Alaska and Hawaii being two of her favorites, which has not experienced the privilege of Alice’s presence and patronage.

Alice had a great passion for music initially inspired by her father who was widely recognized for playing his trumpet for silent movies, with the Flicek family band in public, and in private. Her family would often gather while her sister, Marcy, played the piano and the rest joined together in song. She especially loved Johnny Cash and Harry James and saw both in concert a number of times. She never stopped singing until the very end even to her ducks that she loved and cuddled as though they were her children in their infancy.

The San Diego Zoo and the Marek family household had much in common. They both gave sanctuary to a wide variety of pets and farm animals. She even had a pair of geese as a child that she named Lucy and Lucifer, who would walk her to the end of an exceptionally long driveway to see her off to school on to the bus and were eager to receive her off the bus each day.
Alice having grown up on a farm became widely familiar with the plight of the farmer. She and her cousin-in-arms chased the pigs, fended off a raging bull, loved on the horses, swept the barn, etc. Alice shared one regret in that she expressed to her father an interest in learning to milk the cows. Her natural curiosity quickly turned from a volunteer role to a voluntold responsibility as her father quickly made it an expectation.

Speaking of intellectual curiosity, Alice was a lifetime learner and later went on to become a teacher. She loved documentaries, history, and literature. She graduated from New Prague High School in 1954 and later went on to Mankato Teacher’s College where she took a 3-year teaching certificate and taught elementary education for several years before choosing to stay home and raise a family. Later, she became a nursing assistant following which she was a ward secretary at Queen of Peace Hospital in New Prague. She retired after 29 years of service to continue her globetrotting adventures with her husband and others she held dear.

Alice is survived by sons: Michael (Liz), Jeffry (Helen), Thomas (Tawnya), Rich (Jolene), and John; grandchildren: Anna (fiancé Alex), Kaleo, and Coral; step-grandchildren: Marcus Brown, Michelle Brown, LaToya Brown, Brandon Chandler, Andrew Chandler, and Joshua Chandler; her ducks: Adam, Elijah, Joy, Love, Hope, Peace, Patience, and Faith 2.0; her dog, Flora (formerly Tom & Tawnya’s dog); her cat, Twix (ditto), many deeply beloved nieces, nephews, and cousins. She is preceded in death by her husband, Milton; her parents Joe Flicek and Anna (Novotny); sister, Marcella (Flick) Herda; brother, Richard Flick; nephews, John Herda, Jim Herda, and Paul Marek.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held Friday, March 28, 2025, at 11:00 AM at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church with Father Joseph Gifford officiating. Visitation will be held at the church immediately prior from 10:00-11:00AM. Burial will follow Mass at St. John’s Catholic Cemetery in Montgomery. There will also be a Celebration of Life at 3:00 PM at Bruzek Funeral Home with Pastor Christopher Mark from New Day Church officiating. Doors will open at 2:30 PM.

NOTE: UPON ALICE'S REQUEST, PLEASE CELEBRATE HER LIFE BY COMING DRESSED IN VIBRANT COLORS AS SHE VIEWS THIS NATURAL TRANSITION AS AN EVENT WORTHY OF CELEBRATION IN HONOR OF A LIFE WELL-LIVED.

Memorials preferred to the Family of Alice Marek, C/O Tom Marek.