Marian M. Mester

Marian Melise Mester, age 63 died peacefully on Friday, October 27, 2017 at Genesis Layhill Nursing Home in Silver Spring, Maryland. Born June 2, 1954 in Monterey, California, Marian was the third child of the late Col. Elliotte J. Williams (ret.) and Jayne Maynard Williams. As an army “brat” she lived with her family in Japan, Washington, DC, Germany and New York, finally settling in the Maryland suburbs. She received most of her education in the Prince George’s County School System and was a member of the first graduating class of Friendly High School in 1972. During Marian’s earlier adult years she worked as a sales consultant in several retail stores. She was an avid lover and collector of antiques and was once the co-owner of Deja Vu Antiques in Laurel, Maryland. In the early 90’s through 2001 she was a Community Sales Manager for NVR Inc/ Ryan Homes where the value of her home sales exceeded $40 million dollars. Marian had a keen sense for interior design. Creating a welcoming and fashionable home space was a passion of hers. She loved to help friends and family decorate their homes and office spaces. Always the nurturer, she often organized activities to bring her family and friends together, be it camping trips in the mountains, beach weekends at the Eastern Shore or simple yard parties. Marian was an active member and Co-President of the Lions Club International-Bowie Chapter where she helped serve the local community by providing food for families with the Bowie Food Pantry and the PG County Warm Nights Program. She also supported the Greening of Bowie with the construction and sale of rain barrels to save the Chesapeake Bay by recycling rain water. Some of Marian’s art-work can be seen as paintings on rain barrels in the yards of Bowie residents including her own. A very talented artist in many ways, Marian loved to draw, sketch, paint and sing. She acquired a knack for sewing; a trait which her mother Jayne was instrumental in teaching her at an early age. Marian enjoyed sewing garments including dresses and costumes for her daughters and granddaughters as well as curtains for her home. Cooking and baking with her children and grandchildren was also a favorite activity. She was often in the kitchen teaching her grandchildren how to cook various meals. Her “Chef’s 1 thru 9”, as she affectionately called them, enjoyed learning how to make and of course sampling all of the food they would prepare for different home gatherings. Her love of plants and flowers was evident in the immaculate yard-scape that she kept at her and JJ’s home. She could often be found in the backyard pruning plants, tending to her herb garden and mulching…or rather ordering JJ or her grandkids around to do so! She took pride in everything that she did. Wanting her family or social gatherings to be the best, she would go out of her way to make everything “fancy”..which her daughters would sometimes say was overboard. Nonetheless, she had an attention to detail and did not sway from it.   Marian’s mother and eldest sister Magda preceded her death in 1996, her father in 2000. Marian’s surviving immediate family-include her loving husband of 40 years, Joseph “JJ” Mester, three daughters: Marissa Thomas, Krystyna Mester and Jennifer Mester. One sister, Monica Knox and two brothers Mark Williams and Michael Williams survive her. She has five grandsons: Christopher, Anthony, Andrew, Aidan and Gabriel and four granddaughters: Samara, Amaya, Nadia and Ava. She is also survived by sons-in-law Mark Thomas, Luqman Green and Inton Mouynivong, brothers-in-law Daniel Mester, Warren Knox, Michael Bolton and sisters-in-law Sofie Williams, Bernadette Mester and Sandy Mester; loving nieces Heather, Hannah, Emma, Alison, Aubrey, Shaynea; and one nephew Tony as well as a host of family and friends. She will be sorely missed by all.