In a family of huggers, Shahnaz Pestonji and her daughter Yasmin had to start shifting around. With her second child due in August, Yasmin’s baby bump was getting so big, that whenever she saw her mother, they would do a little shuffle move so that it was to her mother’s side and they could properly embrace.
“She’d start laughing, and be like, ‘oh, we can’t touch’ because of my belly. So we started hugging like that the last couple weeks. She would always laugh when I tried to hug her and my belly would bump into her and that’s who she was,†said Yasmin.
Shahnaz, 71, was stabbed to death on Thursday in what police described as a random, unprovoked attack, while she was on her weekly grocery run, leaving her husband, Soli, 75 and daughters, Dina, 41 and Yasmin, 39, reeling after the loss of the woman that they say was their rock and an “angel on this Earth.â€
Shahnaz Pestonji, 71, was stabbed to death in a random, unprovoked attack on Thursday at a plaza while she was grocery shopping. She is pictured with her husband Soli, two daughters Yasmin and Dina and grandchild Shayna.
Courtesy Pestonji familyHer family describes her as a joyful woman with a loving spirit, whose distinctive laugh was contagious and who had an active social life with family and friends. She worked as a nurse at Sunnybrook, working with veterans and seniors, but since she retired about 15 years ago, she was devoted to her growing family.
“We used to travel a lot,†said Soli, who celebrated his 47th wedding anniversary with her earlier this year. “But once we had grandkids, she didn’t want to go anywhere.â€
In the house near Don Mills Road and Sheppard Avenue that the family has called home for decades, there’s art and souvenirs from all over the world on the walls. Tiny koalas sit on top of two lamps, while Egyptian artwork adorns the walls.
After she retired, she kept busy, with a group she did yoga with, her friends she had lunch with, their large extended family, but the most important thing to her, was her immediate family.
“They were always doing something, but she would never say ‘I’m busy,’ because it’s like an excuse, I’m too busy for you. She made time for everything, especially family,†said Dina.
An incredibly tight knit family, Dina recalled when she was 29, she had a stroke and was hospitalized for months. She said her mother and family were there everyday and she would always bring food for her, she was an incredible cook. Beyond that, she said what really helped her recover was her positive attitude.
Shahnaz Pestonji, 71, was stabbed to death in a random, unprovoked attack on Thursday at a plaza while she was grocery shopping. She is pictured with her grandchild Shayna.
Courtesy Pestonji family“My mom, every single day, they would be at the hospital. I lived in the hospital for many months. And she would always be like, ‘Dina, today I brought a bag for me.’ There always was food in it, because that was the only thing I would be looking forward to,†said Dina.
It was only a year or so after her recovery that Dina told her that her mother had a rule when people visited her.
“She was like, D, when you didn’t understand what was happening, I had a rule that no one that was allowed to come into your room could say anything negative because I wanted you to always believe that you were going to get better,†said Dina.
The family is devastated by what happened, but they are trying to remember the joy that Shahnaz had every day and shared with them.
“She also was so expressive to us. There was never a day that went by that we didn’t feel loved. That we didn’t know how much she cared for us, how much she loved us, how much we meant to her,†said Dina.
“There’s no doubt in any of our minds that she knows how much we loved her and she was the centre of our world and we know how much she loved us and at least we can take some gratitude in knowing that there are no hugs that weren’t tight enough. I mean, if I could get another hug I would never let go,†said Yasmin.
The Pestonjis say that so far, they don’t know anything more than what the police have told the public. Late Friday, police revealed that they are looking for a 14-year-old boy that they believe was attempting to rob Shahnaz at the parking lot.Â
“The worst thing is, there is no warning. You know when the cops come to your door and you know, that is, that is the worst thing,†said Soli.
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