Pearl Levy (née Guralnick)

Pearl Levy (née Guralnick) passed away peacefully in her sleep on March 21, 2026. To all who had the privilege of knowing her, Pearl will be remembered for her boundless love, kindness, and generosity of spirit. She showed everyone around her how to age by growing and evolving – with every day she was onto something new, something different and something better.

Pearl was born in 1929 in Montreal, where she lived her entire life. Cherished sister to Edward Guralnick (deceased), Abe (Numie) Guralnick, and Florrie (Faigie) Levy, Pearl grew a family with her beloved husband of 69 years the late Mort Levy, and raised three sons, Stephen, David, and Robert.

Pearl created a household full of art (painting and sculpture), music (mandolin and piano), and outdoor sports (skiing and sailing). She was an avid knitter, giving her knitting ware to WW II soldiers as a teenager, and to all her family. As her fine art skills grew, she earned a university degree at UQAM and blossomed into a nationally recognized sculptor whose work decorates galleries, museums, corporate and private collections. The overriding theme of her work was the study of family, relationships, and love.

Her adoring eight grandchildren – Kira, Katie, David, Sunny, Francesca, Diana, Taylor, and Sean – and nine great-grandchildren – Lilianna, Imogen, Ayala, Eden, Ellie, Goldie, Alice, Pau, and Tree – will never forget Nana Pearl’s home art lessons full of paint, charcoal, crafts, and visits to her sculpting studio in Old Montreal. Her gift of creativity to them are a foundational part of their lives. Pearl also extended this gift to countless others by donating her time to teaching in a wide variety of community settings. Until her last days Nana Pearl’s art classes were in session for the children in her apartment, where she continued to paint until she could no longer lift a brush.

Pearl was a loving sister-in-law to Ellen Guralnick and the late Arlene Guralnick, the late Michael Levy, and the late Audrey Guralnick. She will be missed by her daughters-in-law Jill, Amanda, Patrizia and spouses of her grandchildren Theo, Jules, Wally, Che-Wei, and Maria. She always graciously and generously embraced new entries by marriage into her family as one, like Federica and Antonio. She will also be missed by Dany, Felice, Iain, and Eli. A small army of nieces, nephews, cousins and countless friends, colleagues, neighbors, for whom she was an ongoing inspiration will also deeply miss her.

The family wishes to express its profound gratitude to Pearl’s caregivers – Dina, Vita, Gemma, Chris, Vergie, and Priscilla – who provided the unwavering assistance, support, and comfort that enabled Pearl to prosper in her final years. In addition, the family wants to recognize the thoughtful and compassionate contributions of Gretchen Lydia Keller, nurse clinician at CIUSSS Centre-Ouest de l'Île de Montréal.