It is a deep sadness for all of us at the DPI to have lost our dear friend and colleague David Petrasek, who died in Canada on Tuesday the 12th Of May 2020. Our hearts and thoughts go out to David’s family and to his many other friends all over the world. David has been on the Board of the DPI since we started in 2011. That hardly begins to describe the value of his contribution. His profound knowledge (we’d often think, what didn’t he know?) and calm wisdom have been a constant and invaluable feature of our work. It is easy for us to see why he was so loved and highly regarded by his students at the University of Ottawa. None of us could spend any time in David’s company without gently absorbing something new or seeing some question from a valuable new perspective. But more even than his tremendous and dedicated work for the DPI, we remember the sheer pleasure of his company. Despite his huge range of other activities, whenever he was with us at the DPI, we were his people and the DPI was his sharp focus. David was the most engaging and humorous friend and colleague. We were delighted when he was able to join us last June for DPI meetings and a get-together in Ljulbjana. He was the same David we had come to love over many years – for some of us, happily, longer than just the 9 years with the DPI. Lively, energetic, funny, wise. A truly devoted friend of the DPI. All of us here remember David with huge affection, and always will. A great man.
