Discover the story of ASF

Cristea Vlad-Andrei is the President of the Funeral Services Association and the representative of SC Beligi SRL, an authorized commercial funeral pump company from Bucharest, with over 30 years of experience in the field.

It is active in the comprehensive funeral services sector and actively contributes to the development of the funeral industry in Romania, by promoting quality services and supporting a coherent legislative framework.

He is dedicated to a clear vision: accessible, dignified and organized funeral services across the country.

Within the Funeral Services Association, it aims to strengthen the relations between the members of the Association and to develop a functional and coherent framework for the entire funeral industry in Romania.

He is the initiator of Expo Funeral Alba Iulia Fair, the first high-profile event organized in Romania by a professional association in the field of funeral, dedicated to promoting transparency, collaboration and innovation in the industry.

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Founder of Ervin Funeral Home, established in 2013, with activity in Teleorman County and work points in the municipalities of Alexandria and Zimnicea.

Actively involved, since 2016, in high-profile associations, with the main objective of developing and modernizing the funeral sector in Romania, as well as aligning it with high legal and ethical standards.

Mr. Ervin's academic training includes graduation from the Orthodox Theological Seminary and the Faculty of Orthodox Theology, and he is currently a student of the Faculty of Medicine.

He is a tanatopractor and trainer in the field of tanatopraxia, activities that complement his professional expertise and contribute to the development of a regulated and professional framework in the field of funeral services.

Dan Ardelean has been active in the funeral field for over 18 years, both in Romania and abroad, having a solid training in tanatopraxia and funeral management, with professional training in France. He served as head of the prosecture service at a university clinic in Brussels, where he coordinated, for 12 years, the medical work related to the necroptic technique and organic macroscopy.

He is a constant supporter of the implementation of tanatopraxia in Romania, and since 2011 he has been campaigning for the integration of this practice in a legal and organized way. In 2016, he officially participated, as a specialist, together with the working team of the Ministry of Health, in the process of amending the legislative framework on H.G. 741.

He was also actively involved in the collaboration with the National Institute of Medicine and Sanitary-Veterinary Sciences (INMSS) for the training of tanatopractors in Romania — an essential step in the professionalization of this field.

Together with his wife, Violeta Ardelean, they returned to the country after 20 years, in order to participate in the development of this field of activity, to shape it, in a way that they could work safely both technically and economically and to protect the investments of real funeral service providers. These beliefs led him to join the Funeral Services Association.

Currently, the Ardelean family manages a Funeral Home in Romania, providing comprehensive funeral services and consulting, being actively involved in promoting a transparent, regulated and modern funeral system, in support of the providers and bereaved families.

Vaduva Bogdan Ionuț represents funeral services company SC FUNEBRA SRL which operates in Brașov.

The company was founded in 2001, it became known domestically and internationally through the advertisement “YOU WANT, YOU DON'T WANT, YOU STILL GET TO US”. From the very beginning he wanted to provide complete and quality funeral services, which is why he participated in specializations and exchanges of experience.

Mr. Widow is working on the most important project of the society so far, namely the construction of a “MULTICONFESSIONAL HUMAN CEMETERY”.

He is a founding member of the association and wants to meditate on improving legislation and its compliance.

Pasztor Marta is a representative of the company Vili Funerar from Târgu Mureș, with more than 33 years of experience in the field of funeral services.

Fully coordinates the work of the company, providing comprehensive services and support to families in difficult times.

Sîrbu Ionuț has been working in the field of funerals since 2011, based on 24 years of experience in embalming and preparing deceased persons. To further shape this activity, it developed a related segment — catering — which involved expanding into the field of cuisine, a sector where hygiene and fairness are essential and do not allow any mistakes.

Being a graduate of the Faculty of Medicine, he had the courage and motivation to establish a private ambulance service — a major professional achievement, which complemented the funeral activity through the services of ascertaining and issuing the medical certificate ascertaining the death, in accordance with the legal provisions.

His experience accumulated over 24 years of embalming, beautifying and body preparations was reinforced by deepening tanatopraxia, with the help of two trainers who came from France. They have made a significant contribution to shaping a training curriculum in this field at the national level. Thanks to this collaboration and the mentorship provided by someness in the medical sciences, the French diplomat Dan Ardelean, can affirm today that he has the professional fulfillment to carry out all the services dedicated to the deceased — brought together under the scientific name of tanatopraxia — with ethics and full empathy towards those who belong to them.

He is convinced that currently authorized funeral service providers in Romania can reach a much higher professional level, and together they can contribute to raising the standards in this field.

Ing. ec. Cătălin Dodu is the founder and administrator of Funerar Unirea din Tecuci, established in 2010 as an economic division of A.A.R.D.-C.A.R. Unirea Tecuci, one of the oldest relief associations in Romania (active since 1882). Under his leadership, the firm became a local landmark in complete funeral services — from its own chapel, tanatopraxia laboratory, transportation and recovery, to the hall and kitchen for organizing memorials.

In 2015, he symbolically inaugurated a bell tower in the courtyard of the Funeral House, a unique element meant to emphasize the solemnity of the place.

Actively involved in the professional organization of the funeral field, his company has been a member of the European Funeral Services Federation (EFFS) since 2014.

In 2019, Cătălin Dodu was elected auditor of the EFFS, a position he currently holds, being in his third term. He participated in the founding meeting of ASF in February 2020, being the author of the Association's Statute and Articles of Association, as well as the Code of Ethics drafted in 2021.

With more than 20 years of experience in associative work, he is currently serving his second term as ASF censor.