Marian Angela Talese, 90, of Ocean City, New Jersey, passed away peacefully after a courageous three year battle with cancer on the morning of July 7, 2026 at Shore Memorial Hospital.

Marian was born on February 26, 1936 in Ocean City, New Jersey to Joseph and Catherine Talese, owners and operators of the Talese Town Shop.

She was delivered by a city nurse in their apartment above their store on Asbury Avenue. She is perhaps one of the last people to be born on this island. She enjoyed immensely her "childhood on the avenue," and developed early on a love for reading and the arts.

She attended Ocean City High School and went on to attain a degree in Musical Education from Syracuse University, where she met her husband and began her family. She returned to her hometown with her children in the 70s, where she launched Ocean City's Broadsider magazine and taught piano.

She continued her love of education and sought a degree in Architectural Renderings at Temple University. As part of this education, she traveled abroad to study architecture in Italy, bringing those skills back to Ocean City where she captured some of the island's most iconic landmarks.

She was selected to draw both the frontispiece for Margaret Thatcher's 10 Downing Street VIP book and drew the George and Laura Bush home in Texas. Many of the homes in Ocean City contain a drawing by Marian.

Her love for this town made her an active member of its community, volunteering at the public library, on the Historic Preservation Committee, at Shore Memorial Hospital, the Ocean City Zoning Board, and the Ocean City Arts Center. Beyond this, she was a lifelong tennis player, avid reader, gardener, serious bridge and mahjong player, golfer, bocce player, maker of mean martinis and Manhattans, and organizer of many, many book clubs.

As the daughter of a tailor, she took seriously her sense of dress and style. She started every day by pulling together a colorful outfit. She loved her clothes, shoes, hand bags, belts, and jewelry. More than all of this, she was funny, smart, driven, curious, and loved her family.

She is survived by her daughter, Ione Talese, her son and his wife, Jon and Patty Talese, and her six grandchildren, Alex, Joseph, CC, Liza, Sophia, and Jon Jon.

Funeral Services were held on Tuesday, July 14th, at St. Augustine's Church in Ocean City, New Jersey.The burial followed at Seaside Cemetery in Marmora. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Ocean City Arts Center. Arrangements were made by The Godfrey Funeral Home of Ocean City.