Gabriel Stefan Teodorescu, beloved husband, father, grandfather and brother, 73, of Queens, NY, passed away in his sleep on May 14, 2020, after a four year battle with cancer.

Gabriel was born to Stefan and Eleonora Teodorescu, on August 8, 1946 in Bucharest, Romania. He was born premature at 7 months and was not expected to live. By old Macedonian custom, he was “sold” in exchange for a gold coin to a relative through a window and survived. He married Erica Teodorescu in 1973 (divorced 1989) and together they had one child, Gabriela Cristina Antoaneta Teodorescu Bockhaus. He married Delia Bilius in 2005 after being with her since 1994, and he became a proud step-father to Delia’s son, Christian Bilius.

He is survived by his wife Delia, his daughter Gabriela Bockhaus, his son-in-law Jay Bockhaus, his grandchildren Allegra and Carina Bockhaus, his step-son Christian Bilius, along with Chris’ wife Erna Bilius and their child Kristina Isabella Bilius. Gabriel also leaves his sister, Eugenia Teodorescu Keller, to cherish his memory. 

Gabriel had a huge gusto for life, and immense courage. He escaped from communist Romania in 1979 on a train to Italy, and made it his mission to get to America and bring his wife and child – a mission he succeeded in 1981. He became a proud American citizen although he never forgot his Romanian roots. He had a great love for foreign languages (he spoke seven), for great food, especially French Napoleons and Savarins, and was passionate about traveling across the world. He became a travel agent to share his passion for travel, and he personally was an avid traveler. He ultimately visited over 100 countries, and was known in the travel industry for his statistically incredible luck in winning free trips. 

He enjoyed dancing, parties, and being with friends. He read an incredible number of books and could recite passages, poems, and facts by memory. He had a loving group of Romanian friends in Queens with whom he enjoyed celebrations and card games. He loved being with his grand-daughters and teaching them Italian and French. He leaves behind so many good friends across the world who will miss him.

A small private funeral is scheduled for May 19^th at the O’Shea-Hoey Funeral home in Astoria, Queens.

The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Cancer Research Institute in his name https://fundraise.cancerresearch.org/fundraiser/2765249