Mormon Pioneer in Romania dies

Mihail Blegeanu, the first native branch president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ploesti, Romania, has died.
Born November 25, 1951, Mihail was raised in Ploesti, where his father owned a prosperous lumber company.
After World War II, the Communists seized control of Eastern Europe—and, subsequently, the Blegeanus' lumber company—and the family lost everything.
After Mihail completed school, he began his compulsory service in the Romanian Army.
Mihail married Elena Radu in 1971. While Mihail worked in the oil industry, Elena ran a grocery store.
In 1989, when the Iron Curtain fell, the Romanians ousted their Communist leader, Nicolae Ceausescu.
In the spring of 1990, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints transferred missionaries serving in Italy to Bucharest, Romania, to begin proselytizing there.
After establishing two branches in Bucharest, the missionaries traveled north to Ploesti, Romania.
Elder Matt Brinton, from Provo, Utah, recalls, "We arrived in Ploesti on April 24, 1992. Knocking on doors, we met Mihail and his family on April 30. Two days later, the Blegeanus committed to baptism. Two weeks later, they were baptized and became the first four members of the Church in Ploesti."
Initially, the Blegeanu family held church meetings in their home.
Mihail and Elena owned a dry cleaning business in Ploesti. When they learned that the missionaries were washing their clothes in the bathtub in their apartment, Mihail and Elena offered to do their laundry.
A beloved and dynamic businessman in Ploesti, Mihail also became a great missionary, introducing more than 90 potential investigators to the missionaries.
In 1993, the Blegeanus traveled to Frankfurt, Germany, where they became the first Romanian family sealed in the LDS Temple there.
In 1994, Mihail was invited by Church leaders to attend General Conference in Salt Lake City; while here, he helped translate the temple film into Romanian.
Today, thanks in part to the pioneering efforts of Mihail Blegeanu, there are 15 branches; 3,000+ members; and three family history centers in Romania.
"In every area of the world, in every country, in every city, in every small town," Elder Jayson Fugal, from Orem, Utah, said, "there is a first investigator, a first convert, a first baptism, a first member, who helps launch missionary work in that corner of the Lord's vineyard. Mihail was that person in Ploesti."
When the first branch of the Church was finally organized in Ploesti, Mihail was called to serve as Branch President—the first native Romanian to hold that position in Ploesti.
In 1996, Mihail sought political asylum in America and moved his family to Provo, Utah. While here, Mihail served as a translator for the Church—and his children, Mihail and Adriana, each married Americans.
Then, in 2004, Mihail and Elena were denied political asylum and returned to Romania, to care for Mihail's aging mother until her death. While there, Mihail continued translating for the Church.
In 2014, Mihail and Elena secured green cards to return to the United States—and their family here.
On Tuesday, May 19, 2020, after a lifetime of service to the Church, Mihail died of heart failure in the Provo, Utah IHC hospital. He was 69 years old.
He is survived by his wife Elena; his older son, Alfred (Mariana), and their sons Joseph and James, who live in England; his younger son Mihail (Amber) and his children, Michael, Leo, and Natalie, who live in West Valley; and his daughter, Adriana (Hugh Mize) and their daughter, Amanda, who live in Eagle Mountain.
Because of covid-19, the family will hold a small private memorial at home.