Over the years, Mary Kay Novak McGrath became affectionately known as “The Angel of Czech Village,” but friends and family members say it’s not a title she would have actively pursued for herself. Ms. Novak McGrath, a Cedar Rapids native, Jefferson High School graduate and longtime community supporter who purchased a number of Czech Village […]
Over the years, Mary Kay Novak McGrath became affectionately known as “The Angel of Czech Village,” but friends and family members say it’s not a title she would have actively pursued for herself.
Ms. Novak McGrath, a Cedar Rapids native, Jefferson High School graduate and longtime community supporter who purchased a number of Czech Village buildings in 2018 and worked diligently to transform many of them into thriving businesses, passed away Feb. 23 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 69.
Ann Poe, program manager for
The District: Czech Village and New Bohemia, said she was inspired by Ms. Novak McGrath’s efforts to support and expand both Cedar Rapids districts, particularly Czech Village.
“She truly loved her community,” Ms. Poe said. “She loved Czech Village and New Bohemia, she loved her family, and she was so committed to both. Unlike others who just talk, Mary Kay walked the talk, and she invested in her belief in our community and its ability to grow. The District, especially the Czech Village side, had really grown quite a bit under her leadership. Plus, she was extremely selfless. She was such a unique, wonderful, kind human being.”
Monica Vernon, former executive director for The District, worked closely with Ms. Novak McGrath for several years. She said she admired Ms. McGrath on several levels.
“The thing that I think about was that she led by example,” Ms. Vernon said. “She went in and invested so much of her personality and her ideas and her dedication, especially to Czech Village, where she remembered going with her parents even her grandparent. It was a special place, I think she decided it had to be healthy going into the future.”
One of Ms. Novak McGrath’s greatest impacts on the community came when she considered investing in several Czech Village properties.
“Then she discovered that 12 properties were up for sale, but she had to buy all of them if she wanted just one,” according to the program notes for a ceremony honoring Ms. Novak McGrath with the 2022 Robert Chadima Visionary Award. “She decided right then to ‘go for it.’ Since purchasing these buildings, Mary Kay has been working non-stop on renovations, updates, and creative ways to bring people to ‘The Village.’”
The buildings Ms. McGrath purchased through her own company, Novak Investments LLC, include the current locations of Cafe Saint Pio,
Sweet Mercantile Soda Fountain and Candy Shop and the former Hospoda beer and pizza restaurant, as well as the former Hose Company No. 4 building in New Bohemia, which now houses Scribe Stationer on the first level and an Airbnb on the second level.
Ms. Novak McGrath also served on the boards for the Czech Village-New Bohemia Self-Supporting Municipal Improvement District (SSMID) and the National Czech & Slovak Museum and Library.
Leaders are planning to honor her legacy as part of the dedication of the Novak Plaza public gathering space in Czech Village later this spring.
Ms. Novak McGrath is survived by her husband, Pat McGrath; children Lindsay McGrath-Vasquez, Gavin McGrath and Jaymie McGrath-Hobson; and 11 grandchildren. Funeral arrangements are pending.
This story will be updated.
