Adrian DiCastri

DiCASTRI, Adrian John After a year-long battle with bladder cancer in which he displayed incredible strength and courage, Adrian died at home on January 29, 2008 at the age of fifty-five, surrounded by his loving family. Adrian was born on September 5, 1952 in Victoria, BC. His childhood and adolescence there are forever preserved in countless stories of mischief and mayhem that have caused an obscene amount of laughter over the years. Having decided to take his show on the road, Adrian went to Europe for six months when he was 19 years old, an experience that had a profound effect on him. Despite this, any dreams he may have had of perpetual globetrotting were happily scuttled when he came back from Europe and met the love of his life, Susan McDonald. Adrian and Susan moved to Ontario, where Adrian studied Architecture at the University of Waterloo and the University of Toronto. Upon graduating, he eagerly looked forward to a blissful period of freedom and adventure with his wife. Fate, of course, had other plans and the couple soon learned that Susan was pregnant with their first child, Nicholas. Their second, Julia, was born two years later. Adrian was a fantastic father and husband, and his family was very close and full of love. They were also extremely loud, but this was only a problem for the people sitting next to us at Chinese restaurants. Notable family moments included trips to Mexico; amazing summers spent up at Cape Chin, on Georgian Bay; and the construction of the family cottage designed by Adrian, at Cameron Point, also on Georgian Bay. Although he grew to love landlocked Toronto (as long as the temperature remained above 10C), Adrian maintained a strong connection to the sea. One of his greatest pleasures in life was swimming in the ocean. He was also known and loved for his low-key nature, always choosing the inconspicuous route despite his considerable achievements, charm, and wit. Adrian was an award-winning architect, and was passionate about cities and design. He loved working with people and, noticing this, they forgave him the occasional expletive or three. His career as an architect is probably best summed up by saying he had a lot of fun. Adrian is survived by his wife, Susan McDonald, his children, Julia and Nicholas, his brothers Dennis, Julian, Simon, and Matthew, and his sister, Stephanie, as well as his many close friends whose love he treasured. We love you and miss you dad, and will always cherish your memory. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Adrian DiCastri Scholarship c/o the Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, University of Toronto, 230 College Street, Toronto, ON, M5T 1R2. Memorial Celebration will be held on Tuesday, February 5th from 2 3 p.m. in the Great Hall, Hart House (UofT) at 7 Hart House Circle. Followed by a reception from 3 5 p.m. at the same location. 441663