Marie Ann Contessa-Kislus of Plano Texas passed away peacefully on December 13, 2022.
She was born on January 2, 1944, to Lawrence Contessa and Mafalda Cappetti.
Marie was a passionate educator and advocate for mental health. She received her bachelor’s degree at City College of The City University of New York. She held several master’s degrees and a Professional Diploma from Fordham University. Marie started her career as a Spanish teacher at Columbus High School in Bronx, NY. She then was appointed Chair of the Spanish Department. She went on to become the Vice Principal of the High School. Additionally, she served as an Adjunct Professor at the Graduate School of Education at Fordham University.
Marie married Stanley Kislus on January 27, 1984. Stan and Marie moved to Texas and developed an enormous network of best friends forever. They were well known as recommenders of great restaurants and frequenters of community events and activities. Marie was an avid traveler and her passport ran out of space for stamps. Everyone knows of her Puerta Vallarta home away from home and the little jewelry store Ole where she would get new treasures at each visit. She also loved sharing stories of her travels to Madrid, Italy, Portugal, France, and Turkey, and kept meticulous journals of all of her adventures. She was an avid reader, always looking for book recommendations, and kept her knowledge of multiple languages sharp, able to switch dialects in real time. Although Stan was the consummate chef, Marie enjoyed entertaining at her house, preparing meals for friends and family, and listening to music. It was always Marie’s intention to make everyone she interacted with feel special. Marie kept track of trinkets and tokens that would be personal and meaningful to people so that she could acknowledge their milestone events. As soon as you saw an envelope in your mail with the tiny, black ink, straight line handwriting, you knew you were getting your own unique note from her.
Upon her relocation to Plano, Marie became a Licensed Professional Counselor, serving the community across numerous non-profit organizations dedicated to domestic violence and childhood trauma, as well as a full portfolio of clients in her private practice. Although retired, Marie continued to provide her time and talents to The Stephen Ministry at Resurrection Lutheran Church and The North Texas Food Bank.
Stan preceded Marie in death in 2018. She is also preceded by her sister Rose and her brother Michael.
Marie is survived by her stepson Stephen, Stan’s daughter, Michelle, Stan’s grandson Ryan, her sisters Camille, Larraine, and Carol, and her sister-in-law Maryann. She is also survived by her beloved nieces and nephews, great nieces and nephews who she absolutely adored, cousins, and a large extended family. Her loss is also mourned by a tremendous collection of lifelong friends, neighbors, fellow church members, community volunteers, travel companions, the Board of the of the Homeowner’s Association, the wonderful staff at Verona, and the man from the Lladro store in Madrid. The list is vast and wide of the number of people Marie has inspired, supported, and loved.
A funeral service will be held at 12:00 p.m., Sunday, December 18, 2022 at Turrentine-Jackson-Morrow Funeral Home, 2525 Central Expressway North, Allen, Texas. The family will receive friends at 10:00 a.m. at the funeral home.
To honor Marie’s memory, please consider a donation in lieu of flowers to the following organizations:
Resurrection Lutheran Church – Stephen Ministry
The North Texas Food Bank
Three Oaks Hospice – Richardson, Texas