Rosa Maria Christina Pestrak (née Duncan), died peacefully aged 89 on September 18th at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto after living with Alzheimer’s Disease for several years. She is survived by her children, Alexander Duncan Pestrak, Gregory Stuart Pestrak (Sheryl), and Nadia Maria Pestrak; her grandchildren Zachary, Oscar, Rafael, Tristan, and Sebastian; and her sister Maruja Jackman (Hal) and brother James Stuart Duncan (Nancy).
Rosa Maria grew in an idyllic house near Bayview in Toronto. She remembered the lovely garden and was especially fond of riding in the surrounding fields. At 14 she spent a year in Spain with her family. She finished her high school at the Brillantmont School in Switzerland (where she loved to ski on school holidays) and received her BA from the University of Toronto. During this period she had the opportunity to travel with her father on some of his business trips, including to Iran and Afghanistan, which she found fascinating, and she continued to travel throughout her life.
After university Rosa Maria moved to Cleveland, Ohio to study art. She particularly loved the people and atmosphere of Cleveland’s jazz scene. While there she met Walter Pestrak, an architect, whom she wed in 1964. They moved first to New York City, then to four acres in the Westchester woods where they raised their children. Rosa Maria loved it there; she had a garden with dogs, cats, rabbits, chickens, and of course her children all running about. She kept a special birdcage for injured birds, nursing them back to health. Being a mother was the pleasure of her life. She took a keen interest in her children’s education, always encouraging their reading, and always supporting the paths they chose.
In 1984 the family moved to Toronto, and in 1990 Walter moved to Hong Kong for work. Rosa Maria enjoyed the exciting festival that was Hong Kong, which she found endlessly interesting and explored with great delight. After they divorced a few years later she returned to Toronto but began to travel extensively, especially to Asia. She travelled both solo as well as with family and friends. One of her favorite places was Burma, which she visited several times. She crossed China by train with her sister and later enjoyed travelling by boat with her brother and his wife.
In Toronto Rosa Maria lived in Cabbagetown where she gardened and had her office where she carefully planned and documented her travels. She liked the easy friendship with her neighbours. She enjoyed Halloween for the hundreds of kids that would line up while she sat on the porch with a basket of candy dressed as a gypsy. She had a farm in the Blue Mountains where she loved to be outdoors in the sun, gardening or even just enjoying the simple satisfaction of clearing a small stream bed. She loved to sit with her coffee, either on the porch looking out at the barns and fields, or at the kitchen table overlooking the pond, and chat. Rosa Maria was particularly fond of Christmas and created wonderfully warm, Gemutlich Christmases with the candles lit and the fires blazing. She loved winter as much as summer and was as eager to travel to Austria as to India. Everywhere that Rosa Maria lived her bookshelves were overflowing, and reading in bed at night was one of her great pleasures. She had an eye for beautiful things, and on those same bookshelves were many lovely objects, perhaps a memento of her travels, perhaps simply a feather. Rosa Maria loved to cook, often using recipes as inspiration (she rarely followed one exactly.) Her wonderful meals were full of warmth and humour, and she liked to create thoughtful table settings, whether for breakfast, dinner or simply lunch on the picnic table, that encouraged her guests to see the moment, as ordinary as it might seem, as special.
Rosa Maria had a naturalness, positivity and radiance that was an inspiration to many. She was encouraging and kind, especially to the young, whose horizons she always tried to expand. She had a great sense of humour and loved to laugh, whether while playing with the grandchildren she was so fond of, or around the table with her family and siblings. She was a free spirit, and she was beautiful.
The family would like to thank Sunnybrook Hospital and especially the wonderful employees of the Dunfield Residence, who reciprocated her warmth and good humour and took such good care of her during her time there. A special thanks goes to Mary Jean, who provided such wonderful care for Rosa Maria as her health declined; thank you for dancing with her and making her happy.
Following Rosa Maria’s wishes, there will not be a funeral service.
