In Celebration of
Dan Ploscaru
February 2, 1957 -
April 23, 2017
Dan Ploscaru, 60, of Toronto, loving husband and father, passed away unexpectedly on the 23rd of April 2017 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Toronto after a tragic heart attack. Born in Podoleni, County of Neamt, Romania to two caring parents, Constantin and Emilia Ploscaru, he enjoyed a truly blissful and bucolic childhood shared with his beloved brother, Victor Sorin Ploscaru. He lived part of his adult life in Bacau, Romania until 1999, when he moved to Toronto along with his family in search of a better future.
Dan was a very passionate, rational, articulate and complex man, an accomplished mechanical engineer who loved his work as a Boilers and Pressure Vessels Inspector with the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) in Toronto. At work, he was well-known and respected for his impeccable professionalism, his thoroughness and willingness to help no matter what. His eagerness to do good, his selfless dedication to his family, friends and peers, his unassuming character, his kindness, righteousness, honesty and sincerity are unique. He had always shown a deep understanding and keen interest in politics, science, finance and the arts, which he would very often, and most eloquently, discuss with great vigour.
In his spare time, he loved painting in his younger years, and then photography throughout his middle age. He would very often spend his afternoons taking long, contemplative walks in many gardens, parks and along the shores of Lake Ontario, shooting many idyllic natural scenes of unparalleled beauty. His fascination with nature, most particularly with plants, flowers, animals and wildlife, are all attesting to his unique aesthetic sensibility and his artistic eye for all things beautiful. Dan always lived up to what his favourite photographer, Ansel Adams, used to say: “you don't take a photograph, you make it.”
He is survived by his wife Gabriela Delia, his son Vlad Alexandru, his brother Victor Sorin, his niece Miruna and nephew David.
Visitation will be from 2:00-4:00 p.m. and 6:00-9:00 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by a religious service commencing at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, 4th May at Turner & Porter Funeral Directors, Yorke Chapel, 2357 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON, M6S 1P4. Dan will be then repatriated and laid to rest in Romania in his ancestral village, Podoleni at a date yet to be determined. Memorial donations may be made to the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada.
The family would like to thank Shoppers Drugmart, Toronto Paramedic Services and St. Joseph’s Health Centre Emergency Department for doing their utmost in trying to save Dan’s life. Thanks also go to Turner & Porter Funeral Directors for all the arrangements and support.
Rest in peace, Dan…
Mission
by Leonard Cohen
I’ve worked at my work
I’ve slept at my sleep
I’ve died at my death
and now I can leave.
Leave what is needed
and leave what is full
need in the spirit
and need in the whole.
Beloved, I’m yours
as I have always been,
from marrow to pore
from longing to skin.
Now that my mission
has come to its end
I pray I’m forgiven
the life that I’ve led
The body I chased
it chased me as well.
My longing’s a place
my dying a sail.