Obituary of Robert Joseph Sestak

ROBERT JOSEPH SESTAK, JR. OBITUARY Robert Joseph Sestak, Jr. of Manaus, Brazil passed away unexpectedly on March 11, 2013 of natural causes. He was born in Bath, New York on May 12, 1962. In his early years, he attended St. Mary’s School and served his church as an altar boy. Having a keen interest in sports, Robert participated in many local youth sports programs, as well as scouting. He graduated from Haverling Central School in June 1980. A fine athlete, he played three varsity sports, soccer, basketball and baseball. His other early interests included the outdoors, the natural sciences, model building, and the Buffalo Bills and the Philadelphia Phillies. After working at several different jobs in the early 1980’s, Robert decided to follow another of his interests, so he joined the U.S. Army, where he served proudly for three years, part of which was with the Multinational Forces in the Sinai. After his discharge, he enrolled at SUNY Brockport and also joined a local National Guard Unit. His education at Brockport was interrupted by his Guard Unit being called to active duty to serve in Desert Storm. When the Unit came home, Robert returned to Brockport, was married, welcomed his first child, Nicole, and ultimately decided to move to Manaus, Brazil. In Manaus, Robert received his Bachelor’s degree from Brockport in the areas of International Business and Earth Science. Once he became fluent in Portuguese, he was able to start a tutorial business where he taught conversational and business English to professional people, including: doctors, lawyers, engineers, corporate executives, and military officers. He was very proud of the quality of his business, his accomplishments in the field, and the number of Brazilian Nationals he was able to help. Robert loved his families in Brazil and the U.S. and will be sorely missed. He is survived by his daughter, Nicole; his wife, Maria, and children, Amanda and James; his parents, Charlotte and Robert Sestak, Sr.; brother, Michael, sister, Jane (Matt), sister, Susan (Ryan), and brother, Thomas (Kim); his maternal grandfather, James P. O’Donnell and family; and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and nieces and nephews. Funeral arrangements are incomplete at this time. In lieu of flower, donations toward a scholarship fund for Robert’s children can be sent to Robert Sestak, Sr., 139 East Washington Street, Bath, New York 14810.