Beloved mother, wife, daughter and friend, passed away suddenly in March 2022.
Born April 22, 1978, Carla spent her early years outside of Palmerston, Ontario. It was there that her parents, both teachers, instilled in her a lifelong love of music, art, books, and above all, learning. While still in high school, she spent time as an exchange student, living in France. Her time in France proved formative, opening her mind to other ways people could relate both to each other and to the world around them.
She moved to Toronto for school in 1997. Carla attended the University of Toronto for a BA in Music and English. However, having developed a debilitating repetitive strain injury while pursuing her music degree, Carla was forced to re-learn how to use her body and to abandon her theretofore career ambitions. Re-inventing herself as a scientist, she returned to U of T in 2004 for a BSc in Chemistry and in 2008 for a MASc in Geology. Her senior bachelor’s thesis was supervised by Barbara Sherwood Lollar, and her master’s thesis by Bridget Bergquist.
After completing her master’s degree, Carla spent time living in India and working at Vandana Shiva’s Navdanya Biodiversity Farm. Her time in India deepened both her commitment to environmental stewardship and her understanding of traditional approaches to the same.
Returning to Canada, Carla joined the G360 Groundwater Research Institute at the University of Guelph which is directed by Beth Parker. Her work as a project manager furthered the characterization of the hydrogeology of various sites of interest.
At the time of her passing, Carla was a PhD candidate in Earth Sciences at the University of Ottawa under the supervision of Tom Al.
Carla’s indomitable spirit, good humour and drive to improve herself (and, always, the world around her) will be missed by all who knew her. Carla was an avid lover of the outdoors, in any form, from gardening to paddling, or from nordic skiing to cycling and camping.
Carla had an unrelentingly fierce drive and focus – she would decide what it was that she wanted, work backwards to develop the steps to get there, and then work as hard as it took to complete each step along that path. It was that fierce drive and focus that allowed her to overcome her repetitive strain injuries, and marked how she met every challenge that came after.
Carla is survived by her cherished husband David Serpa and their precocious and treasured two-year-old son Elias August Rose Serpa; her devoted mother Helen Blancke-Koops; her adoring father John Rose (Kathleen); the large and steadfast extended family she was born into; the welcoming extended family she married into; and the eclectic extended family of kindred souls she adopted into her heart.
Carla’s family kindly requests that you not send flowers. Instead, please consider supporting your local public library in Carla’s name, especially your library’s early childhood collections and programs. Those resources are invaluable to the parents of children in their formative years and are resources that Carla made extensive use of every day of Elias’s life. If you have questions about other meaningful ways you may be able to contribute in Carla’s name, please direct your inquiries to the WALL-CUSTANCE FUNERAL HOME & CHAPEL 519-822-0051 / www.wallcustance.com.
Carla’s family is hosting a public visitation at the Wall-Custance Funeral Home, 206 Norfolk Street, Guelph, Ontario on Sunday, March 27, 2022 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. All are welcome. To protect the vulnerable members of Carla’s family, they kindly ask that all guests please wear a mask while visiting.
A tree will be planted in memory of Carla H. Rose in the Wall-Custance Memorial Forest.