Obituary of Gregory M. Cilek

Gregory M. Cilek, age 66 of Iowa City died Saturday, October 9, 2021, at his home surrounded by so much love in the past weeks. A time for family and friends to gather to share, support and remember Greg will be held from 10am till noon on Saturday, October 16th, concluding with remarks by family and friends at noon all at the Ned Ashton House @ 820 Park Road (public parking on Normandy Drive). In lieu of flowers memorial donations can be made in Greg’s memory to either the Englert Theatre, Film Scene, or Horace Mann School, all of Iowa City and very important to Greg. To share a thought, memory or condolence please visit the funeral home website @ www.gayandciha.com. Remarks by family and friends will be livestreamed and can be found on the Livestream tab on his obituary page. Gregory McNamara Cilek was born on December 11th, 1954, in Iowa City to Paul and Lorada. He was the second youngest of 8 children and is survived by all of his siblings. He graduated Iowa City High School in 1973, where he still holds a record for the longest pass on the gridiron, and cum laude from University of Dayton in 1976, where he majored in English. Gregory eventually landed in New York City, where he founded Iowa Sports Management, a design and management company for health clubs, spas and wellness spaces. Soon thereafter, Gregory met Maureen Burns, with whom he married and raised two children, Catherine and Henry. The family spent many years in Gregory’s hometown of Iowa City before relocating to Sarasota, FL for a period of time. After 17 years of marriage, Gregory and Maureen parted ways and he then returned to splitting time between New York City and Iowa City. Gregory cherished the moments he spent with Catherine in Manhattan while she was at NYU, and visiting Henry at USC in California. During this time, he met Brenda Pearson, with whom he shared his final years. Years which were spent full of traveling and laughing, some of the happiest of his life. Gregory and Brenda loved each other very much and were engaged to be married, though cancer had other plans. Gregory would be best described as charismatic, generous, and intuitive. He was larger-than-life, and did not wait for any particular milestone to enjoy what he had. He truly sought adventure each and every day. Gregory established real connection with almost everyone he came into contact with, and perpetually became fast friends and family with many as a result. He was bold in telling people how he felt and what he thought; always in the moment, for better or worse. Gregory is survived by his partner Brenda, children Henry (Kaitlin) and Catherine, step-children Ezra Layman and Isaak Layman, siblings, Mary Fran (Stefan) Robertson, Beth (Jim) Kerr, Mike (Judy), Steve (Sandy), Terri Condon, Nick (Carmen), Dan (Shelley) as well as his furry friends Koda, Grüner, and Kika. In addition to being remembered as a great father, loving partner, and strong leader – Gregory will always be known, to those near and dear to him, as The Culinary Barfly of New York City.