Longtime Tucson resident Marie Slezak Piercely passed away peacefully at her home on Wednesday, February 22, 2023, after a valiant two-year battle with cancer. Marie was a dynamic, determined, capable and unforgettable person who made the organization she worked for and the community she lived in better.She loved her family dearly and her I will do anything for my family. Her positive attitude was wonderful and inspiring. Her family and many of her friends and colleagues miss her very much.
Marie was born on December 17, 1955 in Indianapolis, Indiana. She grew up in Bermuda, France, Belgium and Denmark, as her father entered the State Department when she was five years old. Marie returned to the United States, where she attended college in Oberlin, Ohio, where she majored in geology and met her future husband, Phil. Marie and Phil moved to Tucson in 1978 to attend graduate school at the University of Arizona. They married in 1980 and had daughters Genevieve and Christine.
Marie has had a diverse and influential 40-year career in the seafood industry. She started working as a hydrologist at Cella Barr Associates and in the Pima County Flood Control District, eventually becoming a professional engineer (civil engineering) even though she had no formal engineering education. rice field. Seeking her new challenge, in 1995 she became a Tucson City Council aide focused on water issues. She moved to Tucson Water in 1997 and was promoted to deputy director in 1999. There she oversaw the project and successfully reintroduced the Central Arizona Project (CAP) water to Tucson. In 2009, Marie accepted an offer to join her CAP in Phoenix, first as an assistant and later as deputy general manager, which she retired in 2016.
Marie has been active in the American Water Works Association and served as President of the AZ Water Works Association from 2016-2017. AZ Her Water awarded her the Fuller Award in 2018 in recognition of her dedication to ensuring Arizona’s long-term water supply. Throughout her career, Marie has always impressed with her ability to accomplish whatever she sets her mind to. She Marie has done her thing. She served as a role model for her daughters and women in her field.
In Retirement, Marie explores CAP Water’s disastrous initial introduction to Tucson in the early 1990s and its successful reintroduction in the early 2000s, and co-authored with Mike McGuire in 2020, Tucson’s Water Turnaround, a Danger to Success”. Communicate the lessons learned from this tumultuous time in Tucson history to water managers around the world. Marie continued her efforts to promote her book despite the Covid-19 lockdown and cancer diagnosis. This includes her being a keynote speaker at several conferences and hosting a booth at the 2022 Tucson Festival of Books. 2020-23.Marie had an unbridled zest for her life. She loved music, writing, cooking, dancing, gardening, skiing, biking and spending time with her family, friends and dog. Marie prioritized her family’s traditions and planned her grand vacation. Her Penasco, Puerto, Mexico and Durango, Colorado were happy places for her. She loved kayaking, reading on the beach, and hiking in the mountains. She creates photo books filled with her love and humor to commemorate the big moments in her life and her joyous travels that her family and friends cherish.
Marie has a partner of 45 years, Phil, daughters Genevieve (Brian) and Christine, sisters Lisa and Helen (John), brother Paul (Ellen), mother Reta, and stepsisters Vicky (Charlie) and Linda. was abandoned by , and her numerous nieces and nephews. She died before her father Leicester.
Marie’s Celebration of Life will be held on April 29, 2023 from 10am to 1pm at the Contigo Latin Kitchen (3770 E. Sunrise Dr., Tucson).Share memories and photos https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/tucson-az/marie-pearthree-11170374Her family has suggested making a memorial donation to a scholarship fund Marie set up in 2021 to help Earth Science students.
– Marie S. Pearlthree Summer Research Scholarship, University of Arizona Foundation: https://give.uafoundation.org/page.aspx?pid=948&id=f556426f-6c8b-4636-818f-c15583cfe7b9
– Pearthree Geology Fund, Oberlin College: https://advance.oberlin.edu/donate (Select “Other” and enter “Pearthree Geological Fund”)
