David Lee Stanciu

David was born in Fort Knox, Kentucky, to Daniel David Stanciu and Mary Albert Lee on August 7, 1937. He attended Hanson High School in Hanson, Kentucky with his cadre of lifelong friends, and later The American University in Washington, D.C. He married his beautiful wife Donna Audrey Dean on November 23rd, 1962 in Arlington, Virginia.

After beginning his career in real estate and property management at Koons & Montgomery in Washington, D.C., David established Stanciu Management Incorporated in 1977 to manage properties in Maryland, D.C., and Virginia. The company continues to operate today, more than 50 years later. If he had ever actually retired, David would have been an exceptional and entertaining downtown D.C. tour guide owed to his near-encyclopedic knowledge of every building in the city. As a certified property manager (CPM), he was a member of the National Realtors Association, and a founding member of the local chapter of the Apartment & Office Building Association, chairing the ethics committee. He was a veteran of the Korean war, serving in the Army at Fort Meade as a member of the intelligence community.

David was at his best surrounded by family, celebrating and sharing stories about his adventures from his childhood and adult life, loaded with analogies and “Stanciu-isms” like “if it won’t go, get a bigger hammer” and “it won’t be seen on a gallopin’ horse.”

Some of his favorite pastimes included beautifying his yard, where his capable green thumb was on full display, tinkering at his workbench, long Sunday drives with the family, and traveling across the country on a quest to show his children the best every state had to offer.

David is preceded in death by his father, mother and his sister JoAnne Steapleton. He is survived by Donna Dean Stanciu, his lovely wife of 63 years, his daughter Shawn Stanciu Guth (Philip Guth), his son Stephen Wayne Stanciu (Michelle Milhous Stanciu), and his grandchildren Sarah Guth Sadler, Victoria Marie Stanciu, Miles Taylor Guth, and Daniel Logan Stanciu.

Pallbearers will be Stephen Stanciu, Philip Guth, Miles Guth, Daniel Stanciu, Nicholas Sadler and Brandon Allen.

The family wishes to extend our sincere gratitude to Dr. Jason Bonomo, MD, PhD and the team at Inova Schar Heart & Vascular Institute, and Dr. Chao Yin, MD, and the team at Virginia Cancer Specialists, as well as the providers and staff of the Inova Fairfax Cardiac ICU.

A celebration of life will be held on Wednesday June 24th, 2026 at National Funeral Home and Memorial Park, 7482 Lee Highway, Falls Church, VA, 22042 (703-560-4400). Friends and family are invited to attend visitation at 1:00 PM, followed by a celebration of life ceremony at 2:00 PM with Reverend Scott-Bach Hansen, Pastor of St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, officiating. Following the ceremony, a private burial will be held for the family.

Cards and letters may be addressed to the family at The Signet, 6900 Fleetwood Road, McLean, Virginia, 22101. The family welcomes flower arrangements at National Funeral Home and Memorial Park.

Some men see things as they are and ask Why? I dream things that never were and ask Why Not?