Danny William Rurak

It is with great sadness that the Rurak/Potter family announce the passing of our kind, caring, thoughtful, and loyal husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, friend, teacher, and mentor, Dan, who passed away peacefully with loved ones by his side in Vancouver on March 6th at the age of 76. He is survived by his wife and soulmate, of 46 years, Janne, his four children Jennifer (Ryan), Sarah (Ben) Andrew and Erin (Scott) along with his four grandchildren Aubrey, Owen, Aoibheann and Ossian, and his siblings Dave, Tim and Deb.

Dan’s life revolved around his family, the family farm, and his work. He was the quintessential intellectual and academic focusing his interest on fetal maternal medical research, student mentorship and a love of classical Roman history along with history of the great wars.

Dan was born in Vancouver B.C. November 7, 1946, the eldest of Orest and Hilda Rurak’s four children. He was raised in Burnaby and spent fun filled summers at Cultus Lake with his family. From a young age Dan excelled academically which led him to UBC where he completed both his Bachelor of Science and Master’s degrees in physiology. Upon completing his master’s he was awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship to the University of Oxford, where he became a member of Worcester College and embarked on his PhD studies in fetal maternal physiology. Upon completing his PhD in 1977 he returned to Vancouver and accepted a professorship at UBC in the department of Obstetrics and Gynecology where his career would span 5 decades. He established his research laboratory and the BC Institute for Women’s and Children's Health, taught and mentored students, headed various committees, and spoke at Universities and Conferences around the world.

While working on his Masters Dan met Janne who was studying in the same laboratory. In 1972 she joined Dan in England to study Veterinary Medicine. They were wed on August 25, 1976 in the backyard of what would eventually become their home for 40 years. In the fall of 1977, they returned to Vancouver and purchased a home in Dunbar and started their family with Jennifer being born in 1979 and Sarah following in 1981. With another baby on the way, they moved to Janne’s family hobby farm in Southlands where Andrew (1983) and Erin (1985) joined the family. Dan developed a love of horses and a myriad of other critters. It was a busy time but lots of fun and very rewarding.

Dan loved to travel and his career required him to lecture across the globe at various Universities and conferences which, enabled him to visit the historical sites he knew so much about. He loved old movies, the music of his youth, but most of all he loved to read. He got great pleasure from working out varying strategies presented by complex war board games. His home is filled with hundreds of books and strategy war games he collected over the years. He also enjoyed the lively nature of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas.

Dan will be remembered for his love of family, animals, cycling, cooking, the ocean, and his unbelievable wealth of knowledge. Words that best describe Dan would be first and foremost kind, selfless, tolerant, giving, loving, faithful and absolutely brilliant. His family will miss him terribly as will those who had the good fortune of getting to know him during his lifetime.

We invite all those who wish to attend to Dan’s Celebration of Life to join us on March 21st at 1:00 pm at the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies: 6331 Crescent Rd. Vancouver BC, V6T 1Z2. Please bring your smiles and great memories as this is what Dan would have wanted!

Finally, we would like to offer a heartfelt thankyou to all the staff and volunteers at the Parkview Tertiary Care Hospital who offered Dan patient, supportive, and compassionate care.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.firstmemorialnorthvancouver.com for the Rurak family.