Katarina Tkacik, age 71, of Boston, passed away on January 6, 2026.

Born in Kosice, Slovakia on January 20, 1954, she was the daughter of the late Marian Okal, a professor of Physics and Marta Okalova, a pharmacist.

As a child, when it was still Czechoslovakia, she spent summers at her grandparents' home. She spoke so fondly of those times, even in her last days of life. As she got older, she accompanied her father on hiking trips to the mountains with his students. By high school, she had a knack for painting and drawing, she composed poetry, she played basketball, and then she graduated valedictorian. She also excelled in math and science and was accepted to study Chemistry at P.J. Safarik University. She went on to get her masters in Physical and Analytical Chemistry at Comenius University.

In August of 1968, Russian tanks rolled into Czechoslovakia. The Russians would not leave until the fall of the wall in 1989. Katarina would not wait. Pregnant, but not yet showing, she knew she had to escape or stay forever. Once in Austria, she gave birth to her daughter, Katka. And shortly after, she and her then husband, Gabriel Tkacik, were able to immigrate to the United States, the country she would call home for the rest of her life. She truly believed the United States was the best country in the world.

Her drive to constantly improve, learn, and grow helped her career once she got her foot in the door with a research assistant position at Dynatech. Her work contributed to the development of many medical devices, including blood gas analyzers, bleeding control devices for surgery, and later biomarker discovery technology. She holds a US patent. While working full-time, she earned her MBA at Boston College and worked her way from research assistant to chemist to senior program manager. She lived the American Dream.

In her thirties she moved to Concord, MA with her then husband, Mark Landrigan. She began playing pick-up basketball – something she would continue into her mid-sixties. She frequented the MFA and other museums and attended concerts of all types of music. She ran the Concord Rec 4th of July race for many years. She loved Concord. Her friends knew her as eclectic, quick-witted, stylish. Later in life, she moved to Boston to be close to culture and entertainment. She joined a philosophy club. From 2022 on, she spent more time in Spain with her daughter's family.

Katarina was a writer, a questioner, a poet, an artist, a scientist, a project manager, a music lover, a trendsetter, a runner, a basketball player, an intellectual, a philosopher, a traveler, a coffee afficionado, a fencer, a dancer, a beauty, and a mother: She was everything - the most well-rounded, impressive person in any room. She was superlative.

She is survived by her daughter, Katka; son-in-law, Jorge; Juan, Marta, and Emma, her three grandchildren; her brother, Marian; her sister-in-law, Maria; Marian, Tereza, and Margareta, her nephew and nieces. She was predeceased by her parents, Marian and Marta.

Katarina's Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Bernard's Church at Holy Family Parish, 12 Monument Square, Concord Center on Monday, January 19, 2026 at 10:30 AM.  Burial will follow at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord. Please click here to view the church live stream of the Mass.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory may be made to MFA Boston .

Arrangements are entrusted to Dee Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Concord.