With broken hearts the family of Sylvia Bernst announces her passing on Wednesday, June 17, 2015 after a brief but courageous battle with cancer.
Born on January 5, 1953, in Fort William, Sylvia was the second child of three born to Alex and Waltraut Kesmarky.
Despite her blonde-haired, blue-eyed innocent appearance as a child, Sylvia was very much a tomboy who preferred to climb trees with her brother rather than play dolls with her friends. Once her family purchased their camp at Shebandowan, Sylvia found a new and more exciting place to find adventure.
Sylvia attended school at Drew Street Elementary School before going to Fort William Collegiate. In high school Sylvia was both a successful student and athlete. She was a cheerleader and an accomplished gymnast who loved to compete on the uneven parallel bars.
Sylvia started her career as a law clerk early in her life, working for various law firms before finding her home at Buset and Partners, where she spent the majority of her career and truly began to enjoy her profession and her relationships with her colleagues. Anyone who knew Sylvia knew that the most important things in her life were her children. Her daughter Meagan, of whom she was fiercely proud and protective and her fur babies.
Sylvia was an enthusiastic animal lover whose whole life was characterized by her love for her horses and the many cats and dogs that she and Doug owned together. In 1983 Sylvia met Doug and together they built their house and spent the best parts of their lives at their camp at Shebandowan.
Left behind to mourn Sylvia’s passing are her husband Doug, daughter Meagan Kennedy, mother Waltraut Kesmarky, sister Marina Robinson, brother Attila Kesmarky, mother and father in-law Earl and Florence Bernst, brothers-in-law Rick (Lynda), and Glenn (MaryAnn) Bernst, as well as nieces and nephews Alex, Julia, Ali, and Taylor Bernst.
A Celebration of Sylvia's life will be held on Tuesday, June 23, 2015 from 2:00pm until 4:00pm at the DaVinci Centre. If friends so desire, in lieu of flowers donations can be made in her memory to the Humane Society.
