Erica Ruth Prescesky (Nee Mitchell)

Erica’s wish to see out the rest of her days at her home overlooking Mount Royal came to pass before transitioning to a place she always believed in, and a place where she would be reunited with her dear husband Peter Eric Prescesky and her youngest child Douglas - who passed away way far too early.

Born in Ottawa Ontario, Erica attended Glebe Collegiate High School where she was Head Girl in 1947. That sort of popularity carried over to when she enrolled at McGill University in Montreal in 1949.

She met Peter, her husband to be, in front of the (Roddick) Gates at the entrance of McGill and the couple married that very same year in Moncton, New Brunswick before returning back to Montreal.

Erica was the daughter of the late G. Wellington Mitchell and Mildred (Best) Mitchell. She is survived by her sister Janet Holgate and Erica and Peter’s eight children: Michael (Madeline) of Honolulu, Hawaii; Stephen (Diane) of Moncton, N.B.; Pamela (Grant) Stonehouse of Halifax, N.S.; John of Halifax, N.S.; Nancy Irvine of Hantsport, N.S.; Andrew (Henda) of Montreal, Q.C.; Jill (Wayne) of Montreal, Q.C.; Elizabeth of Montreal, Q.C.; and is predeceased by her youngest son, Stewart Douglas, of Montreal Q.C., her brother David Best Mitchell and her daughter Nancy Irvine’s dear husband Douglas.

Erica is survived by her seventeen grandchildren: Joy, Jennifer, Peter, Jeffrey, D'Arcy, Aaron, Oscar, Emile, Dylan, Nataleah, Nigel, Lyle, Isaac, Alexander, Emma, Nicola and by fourteen great grandchildren: Jack, Abigail, Zachary, Noah, Rhiannon, Anna, Gordie, Landon, Logan, Felix, Mira, Jordyn, Evanka and Alexa.

Erica is also survived by her sister Janet Holgate’s family: (Ericas’s nieces and nephews in the Ottawa region); Krista Temple; Jeffrey Holgate (Tammy); Susan Bell (Jim); Kathy Leedom and the late Brian Holgate (along with 6 great nieces and nephews and 6 great great nieces and nephews)

A woman of above-average beauty and a woman of faith, Erica attended Saint Peters Anglican Church in Town of Mount Royal on a regular basis and did her best to impart spirituality into the lives of all her children.

While attendance at church and Sunday school were mandatory for her children in their childhood years, it became optional as the children grew older, but even then, when attendance was optional - Erica would go as far as to offer up a special “incentive” to come along anyways – offering those who opted in, a sumptuous breakfast at the local Holiday Inn on Cote-de-Liesse - a treat of sorts for those children willing to go to church.

And, when the church bells rang at the Birch Chapel nearby to the family’s seaside summer home at Harbour View in Smith’s Cove Nova Scotia, she would be there with all nine of her children dressed up in matching little outfits; the young boys sporting plaid shorts and matching plaid ties while the girls wore their pretty white summer dresses.

Indeed, those church bells would often have to ring a second time if the family was running late, as the sheer size of the family represented a significant number in terms of the Chapel’s overall attendance.

Many of Erica’s children still remember the delicious “cinnamon toast” served up by Penny Gott at the Hedley House (that came with the breakfast they served) - a breakfast which was, once again, the customary incentive for any and all the children willing to attend church back then.

All joking aside, Erica was blessed with, amongst other things, exceptional organizational skill. Her forte was the way she managed the household that included 11 people, hired help and pets that featured a Saint Bernard at one point named Christopher and, in a different era, Jason, a rather large Standard Poodle who looked more like a bear than a dog.

Space constraints don’t allow for a full-blown look at just how Erica managed to expedite such matters, but let’s just say she managed household affairs deftly and with the outmost precision. Every child on the roster was “color coded” for ease of recognition when it came to things like sorting towels etc. in the laundry room. Towels, along with each kids “other” clothing would go straight into designated bins with all the various children’s names on them, once dried and folded.

On school days, lunch bags were lined up along the kitchen table in brown paper bags (with each child’s name on them) as well. Erica went as far as markering each kid’s name on the inside front pocket of every pair of jeans … These are but a few examples of just how things got done (in precision-like fashion) around the house.

Granted, she had help, but Erica truly was the mastermind that made the whole thing work. Naturally, all the children had their chores, with elder sister Pam carrying a heavy load, but Erica also had a knack for hiring just the right talent to help around the house and she managed to parade quite the cast of characters around the home over the years– too many individuals to list actually but all of whom had served as household help of some sort (mostly of the live-in variety). They were all real characters; like Jocelyn from Trinidad and Tobago, a lady with a heavy Caribbean accent who would bounce around the house sporting her bright red ski hat and light blue uniform. She could often be heard telling all of us at times “don’t get me vexed”. And then there was Brenda, who hailed all the way from Bear River, Nova Scotia. Now there was character!

Amongst other things, Brenda would take the kids to the TMR arena every Friday night, circling the rink to the sound of the Mammas and the Pappas. And, what about Mrs. Russo, the kindly old cleaning lady who would take some of Erica’s kids home to her house in Montreal North for a sleepover and homemade pizza (and pizza like only an Italian can make).

Another forte of Erica’s was the way she decorated her houses. From the family homestead(s) in Town of Mount Royal (the second being custom-built to house a growing family) to the summer home the family owned on the East Coast of Nova Scotia, she had a real talent in this regard, with this talent carrying over to the house she and Peter lived in in Bermuda and, her residence at Le Château in the shadows of Mount Royal … Erica truly had an eye for colour and home decorating and she demonstrated this over and over again throughout the years.

An example of this was the families rather rustic summer home, overlooking the Annapolis Basin - an idyllic sort of place she and the family would go to every year from the end of June to Labor Day.

With the walls made of century old rough-sawn spruce, Erica, made sure that rainy days were anything but dull by painting the floors bright reds, orange, yellow and greens (in strategic parts of the house like the kitchen, all the bedrooms, bathrooms, verandas and porches).

To further brighten spirits on rainy days at The Cabin (as it was known), Erica would have easels set up on the veranda for painting (and finger painting) as well, complete with board games and the like. And, on sunny days, well, there was no shortage of things for her kids to do in terms of swimming at a pool nearby or tennis at the tennis court next to the pool.

There was horseback riding and plenty of other things for her children to do as well around this sprawling piece of property that was known at the time Harbour View House and Cottages and yet, there was always a welcoming lunch, ready on the table that consisted of the usual freshly sliced tomatoes, cottage and cheddar cheeses, mayonnaise, and delicious oatmeal bread.

Back in Montreal, there were ballet classes to run to for the girls and other activities for the boys, parent-teacher nights and all else that goes with the raising of kids but Erica was very adept at streamlining matters by having service providers like Mr. Poirier, the family barber show up at the house to cut all the boys hair. Bread (and milk) trucks made regular visits to both the families houses too in both Montreal and N.S. And, there was no running to the dry cleaners for Erica in either of these places either as she would have THEM come to her - to pick up and deliver clothing at the house, as needed.

Of course, Erica went to great lengths to make sure her children got nutritious food whenever possible and, one could probably write a book on that!

Despite having enough children to field a baseball team, and despite being spread thin at times Erica had her ways to offset this phenomenon. An example of this was how she would schedule time alone with each child. Indeed, there was a calendar posted on the wall by the kitchen for what she would call Time Alones – outings that guaranteed each child the opportunity to spend time alone with their Mother.

And when it came to her children learning French and despite them growing up in a staunchly Anglo community like TMR, as it was called in those day, François Legault himself would be proud of the way Erica tried to make the French language part of her children’s lives.

English TV was forbidden on weeknights and Saturday mornings. Cartoons took a back seat to French television shows like Chez Hélène at those times and Francois himself would be particularly pleased to know that Erica would take things further by having an actual French teacher come over to the house for a little “répètez après moi” session now and again!

Once the house she raised her 9 children in on Markham Road was empty (well almost), Erica moved to Bermuda with her husband Peter, daughter Elisabeth and son Douglas. She spent 10 years there before returning to Montreal in 1983 where she has lived ever since.

“Mom’s place” was a central hub for family dinners and a great place for her kids, grandchildren, and great grandchildren to visit their Nana for many years.

In her twilight years, Erica’s daughters, Pamela, Nancy, Jill and Elisabeth saw to it that indeed their mother’s wish to live out her days at her home was honored. They worked hard to ensure that Erica was surrounded with the best care and attention possible and that all her day-to-day living needs were met as well.

Special thanks also go out to Violi Fabros who contributed greatly to Erica’s quality of life for the last 15 years of her life… right up to the day when Erica left us. The same can be said for Justin, Brenda, Pearl and Leony - all of whom provided a high level of care as well in recent years.