Marian (Hagen) Novak passed away December 14, 2014. The Celebration of Life Service is Thursday, December 18, 2014 at 1:00 PM with visitation from 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM at Ballard-Sunder Funeral & Cremation; 833 South Marschall Road; Shakopee. Lindsey Ballard will preside, and special music will be provided by Jessica D. Villers. Pall bearers for Marian are her grandsons, Doug, Manny, Jason, Seth, Mike and Harris. Marian will be laid to rest at Pleasant View Memorial Gardens in Burnsville.
On January 19, 1921 Thorvald and Bella (Brenden) Hagen celebrated the birth of their beautiful baby girl, Marian. She was third of four children, and loved growing up in Northeast Minneapolis with her brothers and sister. As a child, Marian loved to ice skate, swim and go to the nickel theatre for movies. Marian’s mother taught her to sew at a very young age, and Marian had this skill the rest of her life. She made many of her own clothes as a teenager.
Marian attended and graduated from Edison High School in Northeast Minneapolis. It was at school that she met a handsome young man named Michael Novak, Jr. The two began dating and their love grew. Just a couple of years after graduation, Marian married her high school sweetheart. Michael and Marian exchanged wedding vows at St. Mary’s Russian Orthodox Church in Minneapolis on September 30, 1941. They were blessed with three wonderful children, Mike, Sandy and Joni.
As a family they enjoyed going to Lake Johana and exploring the open road during Sunday drives. The family would hop in the brown Pontiac and drive. Marian treasured her time as a homemaker which allowed her to spend lots of time at home with her kids. Throughout the years Marian also worked part time sewing drapery for Dell Fabrics for 25+ years. She was also known as “Marian the Librarian” when she took a job at the local library. She created beautiful storybook themed window displays for the library.
After Michael and Marian retired, they moved to Prior Lake and spent a lot of time traveling together. They’d take bus trips all over the country. Some of their favorite trips were to Nashville, Door County, the East Coast and Florida. They also took a very memorable trip to Norway. She was 100% Norwegian, and extremely proud of it. Retirement also brought extra time for Marian and Michael to pursue some of their joint hobbies. They especially enjoyed building doll houses together. Michael would design and build the house, and Marian would decorate them beautifully, including needlepoint carpet and ceramic tiles. These were beautiful works of art that were given to family as gifts.
Marian was an extremely talented woman. She was very artistic and excelled in many different areas. She sewed, knit, crocheted, did needlepoint, hand painted china, and created hand drawn greeting cards, up until the weeks before she passed away. Marian pursued her passion for art her entire life. She also had a passion for shopping. Her motto was “Shop ‘Til You Drop.” Marian’s sister Betty was her shopping partner. Betty’s husband dubbed them the “look at that” sisters, because they were always pointing out the wonderful things they saw at the store, and they’d say “Look at that.”
Marian was a kind and generous woman with a big heart. She was a caring mother, loving grandma and a wonderful sister. Family was so important to Marian. She was so close with her sister and had a special relationship with her granddaughters. Her entire family adored her. Marian began Allina Hospice about a year ago in her own home, and it brought her family even closer together. They all worked together to care for Marian. She also received exceptional care from Allina Hospice staff.
During the late morning hours of Sunday, December 14, 2014 Marian passed away peacefully after 93 wonderful years. Family members were by her side. Marian will be remembered always by her children, Mike (Jan) Novak, Sandy Peterson, Joni (Bob) Mastous; nine grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren; sister, Betty Thora Brezny; other loving relatives and friends. Marian is preceded in death by her husband, Michael Novak, Jr., and her brothers, Raymond Hagen and Jerry Hagen.
