Mary Ann Elizabeth Burek

Mary Ann Elizabeth Pistorino Burek, a.k.a. Nana and Coo Bear among other nicknames, passed away peacefully at home in Dunkirk, MD on Tuesday, February 17, 2026. She is survived by her loving husband, Patrick “Buzz” Burek, her three children: Christina, Susan and Jeffrey Burek and seven grandchildren: Samantha, Alexandra, Jacqueline and Madeline Lempert; Mylo Burek; and Elijah and Joshua Burek. She was preceded in death by her parents, Charles and Mary Pistorino, her youngest sister Elizabeth Prosack and many other family members and friends, all of whom she loved very much.

Mary Ann was born on March 26, 1949, to Charles and Mary Pistorino, and was the oldest of six siblings raised in McLean, Virginia. She attended Saint John’s Elementary School and Bishop O’Connell High School. She was an excellent student and graduated from Mary Washington College with a BS in Medical Technology. She completed her degree at UVA when they started allowing women to enroll but chose to graduate with her class at Mary Washington. After college she worked at Arlington Hospital. She took time away from that career and after marrying to raise her children when they were younger and then returned first at Lowry Medical Center, then the Census Bureau, and then for many years working in the lab at Southern Maryland Hospital Center in Clinton, MD. She loved working in the field of medical technology and sharing her medical knowledge with the many friends and family who would ask for her advice.

Mary Ann was a loving and devoted wife and mother who prioritized raising her three children. She did everything in her power to give them the best opportunities she could. She was interested in so many things and exposed her children to as much as possible. She was a very hands-on mom and taught her children cooking and sewing, helped with all the homework (anything from Chemistry to Calculus to English), and instilled in them her lifelong love of reading. Among her many roles was yearbook editor at their school for many years, sewing their costumes for the school play (as she also sewed clothes when she was younger), helping with their science fair and school projects and serving as a swim meet clerk and a Girl Scout mom. She would always take time to sit down with her children and ask them about their lives and share her experiences and wisdom. No topic was off limits. She let them fly but was always a soft place to land, her love a special haven in this sometimes harsh world. She was so proud of her children and was their biggest cheerleader. They've been just as proud of and grateful for her. She had a strong and steady love for them and they loved her the same and always will.

Mary Ann was also a great and supportive wife, daughter, sister, and friend. She loved to talk but was also a good listener. She enjoyed being social and was often the life of the party. Many remember her sense of humor and her wonderfully distinctive laugh. Mary Ann cultivated beautiful flower beds full of roses, black-eyed Susans, petunias, and hydrangeas. Her favorites were purple flowers like the iris, petunias, lilacs, lavender, and lupines. She and her husband Buzz loved to pass peaceful hours tending to their respective gardens, him with his vegetables, her with her flowers. They also traveled all over the U.S., visiting family and going to national parks and to beaches and mountains and historical sites with their kids and as a couple. She always loved spending time with family, near and far, and loved holding and playing with her grandchildren as babies and watching them grow. She and her husband also went to Canada to see the polar bears and they’ve been to Romania, Spain, Poland and Ireland. She went to Greece and France and England with her siblings. At home she relaxed by watching movies with her family and all kinds of shows that sometimes surprised them with their variety, though British shows were a favorite. She was an avid reader, a voracious reader really, of many topics ranging from the political to historical nonfiction to novels to romance to poetry. She was always learning and she loved to pass on that knowledge. One of her favorite things to do was sit in her armchair next to the window with a good cup of coffee and maybe some chocolate and do word puzzles and sudoku and just read for hours, not just books but many articles as well. She loved to discuss politics and books with her parents and siblings. She appreciated many types of arts and culture, going to museums, plays, opera, and concerts in DC and New York whenever she could. She enjoyed seeing the classical paintings at the museums especially. She would join friends on these excursions but also often take her children as well. She loved architecture, especially houses. She especially loved to visit historical homes, where she could imagine the lives that had passed through them. She loved to sing and listen to great singers. She had a great command of the English language and enjoyed sprinkling ten-dollar words full of many syllables throughout her normal conversation, including that with her children, increasing their vocabulary as well. Even when they were very young she would say things like “cease and desist’ to the amusement of the whole family.

Mary Ann was not just a woman with an impressive intellect but also a hard worker with an excellent work ethic. She did so much for so many without asking for anything in return. She had a sharp eye and you could not put much past her. She could be tough as nails and if she wanted something she would not back down from it easily. She had determination, grit and perseverance. Her family had the nickname “the bottom liner” for her because she would tell it like it was, often in a funny and sarcastic way. She was refreshingly honest and direct. But she also had a softness to her. She was kind and sweet and very affectionate. She gave the best hugs, ones that would wrap you up and envelope you in a cloud of perfume. You could talk to her about anything and wouldn't feel judged. There was so much depth to her and curiosity about the world and of people. She believed there weren't any coincidences, had a unique relationship with God in her Catholic faith, and attended church regularly along with Bible study groups. Even though she could be a very serious person at times, Mary Ann was fun loving and was full of life and appreciated it. Her amazing laugh will ring on in our hearts and we will remember that mischievous glint she often had in her eye. She was her children’s and her family’s champion, always, loyal and devout to the end. She toed the line when she had to, but she was an independent thinker and fostered that quality in her children. She was not one to just follow the herd. She was one of a kind, a unique and unrepeatable gift from and child of God. She was, and is, so very loved, and will be deeply missed.

Family and friends are invited to the wake at Lee Funeral Home in Dunkirk on Thursday, March 5th, from 2 to 4pm and 6 to 8pm. The funeral will take place at Jesus the Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Owings, MD on Friday, March 6th at 12:30pm, followed directly by the burial at Jesus the Good Shepherd Cemetery. Afterwards there will be a reception at Mama Lucia’s restaurant in Dunkirk, MD. After the reception family and friends are welcome to join the family at their home, also in Dunkirk. In lieu of flowers the family would appreciate donations to Hospice of the Chesapeake (www.hospicechesapeake.org), who were wonderful in their care and support of her and her family, and Race Against Dementia (www.raceagainstdementia.com), which focuses on finding cures and treatment for dementia including vascular dementia, which she suffered from.