Mary I. Piek

Mary Irene Piek, 72, passed away peacefully with her husband and daughter by her side on September 27th, 2026. Born to Henry and Barbara Clark on March 9th, 1954, Mary was the oldest girl, yet the smallest of the Clark children. Despite her lifelong tiny stature, her jovial spirit and bright personality earned her the nickname “the Wild Mare.” She grew up on the west side of Jefferson, where (as she would tell you) they only played with sticks and paper dolls. She attended St. John the Baptist and graduated from Jefferson High School in 1972. After high school, Mary worked at Thomas Industries and following the factory closure, she dedicated the latter half of her life working as a direct support professional at St. Coletta of Wisconsin, retiring in 2021.

In 1983, Mary met the love of her life, Don Piek. Or rather, they re-met as Mary had been his school lunch monitor when she was in 8th grade and he was in 2nd at St. John’s. Like any good Wisconsin couple, they met at a tavern – Andy’s Riverfront Tap on a taco Tuesday after Mary’s bowling league. The two married on August 9th, 1985 and Mary gave birth to their son John in December. Born with disabilities, Johnny could not have asked for a better mom and advocate. In 1991, the Pieks welcomed Lauren to their family and Mary now had her buddy for shopping, trying new food and traveling. Both kids had the best childhood filled with summers at the pool, Hallmark-worthy Christmases and memorable school field trips, all thanks to Mother Mary.

After having rheumatic fever as a child, Mary was plagued with migraines and other health challenges throughout her life, including a heart valve replacement in 2016. The last 10 years of her life were filled with doctor’s appointments, health scares and hearing aids.

But she also got to enjoy traveling with Lauren to places like Charleston, Chicago, Boston, New York City and California, joining friends at the dog park with her dog Eddie and grand-dog Opie, going on adventurous car rides with Don and Johnny, finding treasures at flea markets, thrift stores and IKEA, trying to win at Friday night bingo with Jody, getting together with friends and family, and having time to herself for watching all her favorite TV shows and reading a good book in the bubble bath.

We will all seriously miss her cooking, holiday decorating, daily dog park reports, her infectious giggle, her obsession with Frozen, Wicked and Grogu, her love of animals and her devotion to her friends and family.

She is survived by her husband of 41 years, Don Piek, son Johnny Piek, daughter Lauren (Dan) Froelich, brother Jim (Sam Magee) Clark, sister Liz (Andy) Bare, nephew Craig (Michelle) Coleman and great-nephew James, niece Desiree (Greg) Wieczorek and great-nephew Mason, niece Ashley (Zach) Slocum and great-nephew Ivan, niece Sarah (Ben) Skretta and niece Jody Koch, and too-many-to-count brothers- and sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews on the Piek side, as well as countless friends and family.

She is preceded in death by her parents Henry and Barbara Clark, sister Rita and brother-in-law Dick Koch, brother John Clark, best friend Jackie Gess, father-in-law John (Harriet) Piek, nephews Ed Kiesling and Andy Schopen, sister-in-law Kitty Piek, brother-in-law Chunky Kiesling and brother-in-law Bill Brandel.

We would like to thank so many friends, family, the team at St. Luke’s Medical Center and the team at Rainbow Hospice for their kindness and support during this incredibly difficult time.

An Open-House will be from 4:00PM - 7:00PM on Wednesday, October 7, 2026 at the Olsen-Gibson Funeral Home.

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