Joan Marie (Knasiak) Malek

Obituary for Joan M. Malek (1936-2023)

Joan Marie Malek, age 86, of Royersford, passed away peacefully on Friday, April 7, 2023. Born in Swedesburg, Joan was the daughter of the late Stanley Knasiak and the late Sarah (nee Stralkoski) Knasiak, the devoted wife for over 64 years of the late Thomas W. Malek, Sr., who passed in 2021, the loving mother of Thomas W. Malek, Jr., Cindy Juillet, Lynn Nace and the late Todd A. Malek, who passed in 2003, the cherished sister of the late Al Knasiak and the late Ed Knasiak, the proud grandmother of her 9 grandchildren and the adoring great-grandmother of her 8 great-grandchildren. In addition, Joan was eagerly anticipating the birth of her 9th great-grandchild.

Mrs. Malek was a graduate of Upper Merion High School, Class of 1954 and was very happy being a wife, mother and homemaker. She was a former member of Mother of Divine Providence Church and, more recently, a member of St. Teresa of Calcutta Church.

Relatives and friends are invited to The Bernard S. Gutkowski Funeral Home, 305 Jefferson Street, Swedesburg, Upper Merion Twp., PA 19405, 610-275-6385, Keith J. Murphy, F.D., www.gutkowskifuneralhome.com, on Saturday, April 15, where her family will greet guests from 10:30 a.m. until her funeral service begins at 11:30 a.m. Interment will follow in Valley Forge Memorial Gardens. The family would appreciate Memorial Donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, (A.S.P.C.A.), 424 E. 92nd Street, N.Y., NY 10128-6804, www.aspca.org, which were Joan’s favorite charities!

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