Luminita Petru

Luminita Petru passed away at the young age of 57 in the early morning hours of April 18th, 2017 in Issaquah, Washington due to heart failure and other complications from lung cancer. It was a battle she didn’t even get a chance to fight as this advanced stage of lung cancer robbed her of her life within two months of being diagnosed. Luminita’s name means “little light” and she passed away during the week of light according to the Orthodox Christian Religion.

Luminita leaves behind her three daughters Ana, Andra, Carmen, her grandson Massimo, her ex-husband Yordan, family pets Mutu, Franci, Oscar, Jack and the birds, family in Romania and lots of friends and co-workers who will be forever touched by her kind heart and radiant spirit.

Born in Bucharest, Romania on December 19th 1957 to Floarea Zamfir and Dumitru Muscalu, Luminita was the middle daughter of three with Doina being the eldest and Flori the youngest. Luminita took a liking to the arts at a very early age since music was already a big part of her family. Her father was a talented musician in the National Romanian Orchestra and played the Cimbalom. She enjoyed movies, musicals, was naturally a great dancer and performer and was passionate about all things beauty, fashion, fitness and health. Luminita graduated with a degree in Mathematics in 1977 and in October 1979 she wed Yordan Petru and a year later they started a family. Together they made the ultimate sacrifice and decided to escape Romania at a time of communism and war with their three young daughters for the chance of a better life in America. Leaving everything and everyone behind the Petru family arrived in Los Angeles, California in January 1992 thanks to the unmeasurable courage and strength of Luminita.

After four years in California the Petru family moved to Bellevue, Washington where they’ve resided ever since. Luminita encountered a lot of hardships throughout her life but she never let any of that ruin her spirit. After her divorce in 2005 Luminita’s faith and connection with God strengthen and that gave her a new found sense of self appreciation and outlook on life. Luminita pressed through and flourished in many areas. No matter how harsh life was Luminita still was kind hearted, optimistic and tackled each day with love, compassion and grace. Luminita went to back to school to follow her passion and graduated from Evergreen Beauty College as an Esthetician and excelled in the beauty industry and in customer service. Her ability to connect with people and her genuine passion for helping others along with her dedication to the beauty companies she worked for, made her a stand out amongst her peers and built bonds with her loyal regular customers. Luminita was a Beauty Advisor for Boots & No. 7 Cosmetic and Skin Care line at the end of her life and a certified Esthetician. Prior work included, being one of the top sales associates at Victoria’s Secret and in the medical field, where she worked for most of her career as a nursing assistant caring for ill and elderly patients.

Her three daughters were everything to Luminita and she raised them with so much love and went above and beyond to make every holiday, celebration and day special for them. Luminita also adored her grandson Massimo,7, and spent every weekend with him from the time he was born . You could’ve also found Luminita snuggling up with the family pets or tending to her plants. She loved flowers, candles, jewelry and the color gold. Luminita had impeccable style and always prided herself in dressing nice and looking sharp, no matter the life circumstances. She was so beautiful and always had the best outfits on and jewelry. Luminita was the life of the party and would light up all social events with her memorable laugh and contagious smile. She would never pass up an invitation for a good meal as she called them “yummies’ or a margarita and if you would put on a good song, she would dance up a storm with her professional moves. Luminita was kind to everyone that crossed her path and would go out of her way to compliment a stranger and brighten their day. On her days off she would visit her grandson Massimo and her daughter Ana where she enjoyed having a coffee in the backyard and walking through the garden and admiring the flowers. Even though Luminita didn’t get to travel much, because she devoted her life to raising her daughters, she cherished the opportunities she got to travel later in life and most of all loved the beach. She would reminisce of fond memories of the tropical vacations and cruises she took with her daughter Carmen and she loved visiting her daughter Andra in California and going to the beach with her.

Luminita at times had so little but she still gave so much without ever thinking twice. It’s hard for the heart to process the fact that someone who suffered so much throughout her life also had a suffering end, it’s just not right. Though people will always remember Luminita for the way she made them feel and for her captivating beauty. She was so generous, kind, loving, caring, passionate, patient, smart, positive, funny, joyous, and talented and her presence had such warmth about it, that being around Luminita was a pleasure. Everyone would gravitate towards her because she radiated beauty from the inside out. Family and friends described Luminita as an Angel on earth and now she will shine her light on us from above. As she showed in the days after her passing to her family and friends in the forms of multiple rainbows. Life is better because Luminita graced us with her presence and her love, faith, optimism and strength are examples for us all to follow. Her strength and sacrifices paved the way for generations to come. It was a life with so much purpose and significance that her message and legacy will live on through all of us that she touched.

Luminita Petru’s memorial service was held at Sunset Hills Memorial Park in Bellevue, WA on Saturday April 22nd for close friends, coworkers and family members. The clouds parted, the sun came out and the rain stopped for just enough time for our Angel to be laid to rest.

Thank you Luminita for teaching us how to love, we can’t wait to reunite with you.