Daniel D. Dragan

1952 - 2016

Daniel D. Dragan

AGE: 64 • New Brunswick

Daniel D. Dragan, 64, of New Brunswick, passed away on September 30, 2016. Mr. Dragan was born May 13, 1952 in Wiesbaden, Germany, while his father was stationed there when serving in the Medical Corps of the U.S. Army. After graduating from Rutgers Preparatory School in Franklin Township, he enrolled at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where in 1975 he earned his Bachelors in Fine Arts degree in Film/Video and Photographic Arts. After completing his studies at SVA, Mr. Dragan launched a successful career in New York City as a creative and commercial photographer. During this time he exhibited his work at numerous galleries, museums and exhibitions throughout the US and Europe. He was listed in Who's Who in American Photography. Later Mr. Dragan returned to New Jersey, where he continued his photography work while living in Laurence Harbor and then New Brunswick. During this period he completed a noteworthy portrait of the entire membership of the New Jersey State Legislature, assembled in the New Jersey State House. He also became a dealer in high-end photographic equipment.

Dan's beloved paternal grandmother, Mary Dragan, was one of the founding members of Saints Peter and Paul Byzantine Catholic Church in Franklin Township, where she devotedly worked bingo every weekend. Grandmother Dragan's brother, Bishop Basil Hopko of Slovakia, was imprisoned by the Communists for many years because he refused to renounce his Faith and was beatified by the Vatican as a result. His maternal grandmother, Nina L. Pusch, was the first woman to work in a supervisory capacity in the financial services industry on Wall Street, where for a number of years she supervised a department of 50 men at Orvis Brothers & Co. until shortly after the First World War.

His father, John Dragan, a distinguished physician who practiced in New Brunswick for many years until his death in 1975, and his mother, Ethel L. (Pusch) Dragan, a real estate agent, preceded him in death. Dan's former wife, Suzanne Dragan, his aunt, Gladys Van Sickle, and numerous cousins survive him.

Relatives and friends may call 10:00 am - 12:00 noon Tuesday at the Quackenboss Funeral Home, 156 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick. Burial will follow at St. Peter's Cemetery, New Brunswick. Memorial contributions may be made to Saints Peter and Paul Byzantine Catholic Church, 285 Hamilton Street, Somerset, NJ 08873