Rockport - Rockport - NOVACK–Marianne M. (August 22, 1948–July 11, 2025), age 76, of Boston and Rockport, MA, died peacefully at home on July 11, 2025 after a long illness. A born adventurer and creative soul, she was equally happy scuba diving in the Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands and the Red Sea or making gingerbread houses and decoupaging oyster shells with her grandchildren around the kitchen table.

Born Marianne Margaret Lefebvre in Schenectady, NY, she was the second of five children and grew up in a house built by her father Bob, a World War II bombardier. Her mother Helen taught her to make pickles and jam, and Marianne worked as a model during high school. But she was a tomboy at heart, and she loved skiing and venturing into the woods with her brothers. These local excursions instilled in her a lifelong love of exploring, and, as a young woman, she embarked on travels on her own throughout Europe.

After graduating from Scotia-Glenville High School, she studied early childhood education and art at SUNY Cobleskill, and went on to earn a degree in elementary education from SUNY Plattsburgh, where she worked as a bartender and hostess for spending money. She taught preschool before moving to Boston, where she would live for the next five decades. She worked first for a job placement agency, but quickly shifted paths and pursued her artistic passions, building her own art consulting business. Marianne was also a talented artist herself, and sold some of her own paintings under the pseudonym Sally Painter.

On March 8, 1985, friends introduced her to Ken Novack, a lawyer and lifelong Bostonian. In their early days of dating, they would source ingredients for fresh pasta and pesto in the North End, then cook over a bottle of red wine at Ken's home in Rockport, on the North Shore of Boston. On a ski trip in Vermont, Marianne was pleasantly surprised to see that Ken could keep up with her on the slopes. As an engagement gift, Ken gave her an inflatable boat with a four-horsepower engine. The two were married at a small wedding on the terrace overlooking the ocean at home in Rockport. Marianne became stepmother to Ken's three children: Laura, Liz, and Kate.

A year later, she and Ken welcomed their son Jeff, who was Marianne's frequent companion at work. They drove from the frame shop to clients, listening to cassette tapes of Tina Turner and the Pointer Sisters, and Marianne had the name Lefevbre et Fils stenciled on the side of her car. The next addition to the family was Lady Trixadora of Beacon Hill – "Trixie" – a beloved yellow Labrador, who was a fixture for 14 years in the Boston Public Garden, across the street from Marianne and Ken's apartment.

With her family, Marianne embarked on many global travel adventures, from fishing and crabbing in Alaska to snorkeling with penguins in the Galapagos Islands. She crisscrossed the waters off the coast of Rockport on her little boat, hauling lobster traps by hand. She was an avid Mahjong player, winning a tournament in Massachusetts and teaching several women in Rockport the game. For years, she hosted weekly games at a custom-made Mahjong table at her apartment in Boston, and was a regular player at the College Club of Boston, the Sandy Bay Yacht Club and the Eastern Point Yacht Club. She and Ken were also regulars at their favorite restaurants, including My Place by the Sea in Rockport and Toscano in Boston.

Marianne is survived by her husband Ken, son Jeff and daughter-in-law Amanda; stepdaughters Laura, Liz and her partner Demi, and Kate; grandchildren Madde, Stella, Eli, Riley, Landon and Remi; and siblings Paul, Jim, and Laurie and her husband Kurt. She also leaves behind her longtime assistant Carol Joyce, several devoted caregivers, and many friends from Scotia, Boston, Rockport and beyond. She was predeceased by her older brother John. Donations in Marianne's memory may be sent to the charity of your choice. A celebration of Marianne's life will be held at a later date.