Ian Van Toch will be ed for his effusive warmth and infectious laughter, says his friend and fellow Queen’s student Alex Caspary. Caspary was with Van Toch before he died of heart failure in his Toronto apartment on Aug. 24. It was later determined that the 22-year-old had been living with coronary heart disease.
Growing up in Toronto, Van Toch attended De La Salle College Oaklands and played on the school’s football team. He couldn’t decide where to spend his university career until a high school friend and teammate, Murilo Guimaraes, pointed him toward Queen’s. Guimaraes stayed in close touch with Van Toch throughout his time at Queen’s and said he’s a “genuine guy.” “[He] made you feel like he was your best friend.” After graduating from Queen’s this spring with a biomedical computing degree, Van Toch did what many students do—he headed for Europe. He spent five weeks there, traveling with two close friends through Italy, Austria, , Switzerland, and the Czech Republic before meeting with his girlfriend in Portugal. He returned home to Toronto in August and was supposed to spend his Labour Day weekend in Montreal, sharing stories of his European adventures with his family.
His father, John Van Toch, re getting an e-mail from Ian detailing his trip to his ancestral home of Nimbourg, Czech Republic. Ian’s grandfather had grown up there, and Ian was meant to show his friends its cultural landmarks. The friends found their own cultural destination “He found a pub. It’s a sleepy town, but there is a pub.” As soon as the staff and patrons made the connection between Ian and his grandfather, a regular evening turned into a celebration of sorts, with beer flowing and Ian’s plan to meet a family friend the next day becoming less and less likely.
“The sign on the door says the pub closes at two. They tossed him out then.” But Ian and his fellow travelers decided they didn’t need a bed that night and parked themselves just outside the underground pub.
“[They] emerged into daylight. He did make it to meet the family friend, but it was a challenge.” Ian was also a hard worker and did exceptionally well in his last year at Queen’s. This week, he was to begin studying for his masters in medical biophysics at the University of Toronto. He discovered his ion after interning at a lab run by Dr. Igor Jurisica at the Ontario Cancer Research centre at U of T last summer.
“[He had] become so focused, his growth exponential in the last year,” his father said.
Dr. Jurisica was going to supervise Ian’s thesis. Instead, the promise that Ian showed is being parlayed through a fund at U of T in his name. Working with Ian’s parents to set up the bursary, John Van Toch said it’s intended to encourage students to gain lab experience at a young age. “At that age, you feel like you have all the time in the world.”
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