Gail Carol Pflaster

Gail Carol Pflaster March 22, 1938 - May 13, 2012 Gail Pflaster, Ed. D., 74, of St. Augustine and North Hatley, Quebec, Canada passed away peacefully at her home in St. Augustine on May 13, 2012 after a long, brave battle with cancer. She was born in the Bronx and grew up in New York City. She graduated from Hunter College and earned her doctorate at Teachers College, Columbia University. She worked as a teacher of the deaf in the NYC school system, later directed the Education of the Deaf Program at Hunter College, did post doctoral work at McGill University in Montreal, and continued her teaching career in the Psychology Department at John Abbott College in Quebec. Her teaching career spanned 40 years in the U.S. and Canada. After retiring in 1998, she divided her time between North Hatley, Quebec, and St. Augustine where she became involved in the Arts community. She enjoyed writing poetry, story telling, volunteering (Meals on Wheels), square dancing, her pets, and was a tireless advocate for the Arts. She was an active member and participant in the St. Johns Cultural Council, Tale Tellers of St. Augustine, the Limelight Theatre Guild, the EMMA Guild (Past President), SeaQuills, Pen Women of St. Augustine, Jane's Stories, and Florida Janes Writing Circle. Gail participated in the St. Augustine Branch of the National League of American Pen Women for about ten years, either as a member or as a patron. Gail said of herself, "Never bored!" In concert with the St. Johns Cultural Council, she created the Festival of Muses to celebrate Womens' History Month. In 2009 she founded the ROWITA Awards (Recognizing Outstanding Women In The Arts) to honor artistic achievements of women and recognize their contributions to the Arts community. This year the Cultural Council re-named the award, The Dr. Gail Pflaster Recognizing Outstanding Women in the Arts Award. Gail's passion for writing resulted in "Furry Tales," a loving tribute to her two dogs and two cats that is due for publication this week. She directed that a portion of the sale of each book go to the ROWITA, Jr. Award. In lieu of flowers, Gail made known her wish that donations may be made to: Jr. ROWITA Fellowships Fund, c/o St. Johns Cultural Council, 13 Old Mission Ave., St. Augustine, FL, 32084. A Memorial Celebration of Gail's life will be held on Tuesday, May 22, 2012 at 3:00pm at the Limelight Theatre, 11 Old Mission Ave., St. Augustine. Her wish was for it to be a day of poetry, stories, and/or songs in her tribute. She also insisted the event be happy, joyous, and secular in nature. Survivors include her aunt Esta Blaxberg, of Gulfport, FL; nieces Rachelle Blaxberg and Cherrie Blaxberg; nephews Barry and Nissan Blaxberg; Matt and Stephen Casper. St. Johns Funeral Home and Crematory is in charge of arrangements.