Camelia Florilena Zlatea of Glen Ellyn, IL, gently departed this life on Sunday, June 3rd, in her home surrounded by family.

Born on May 21, 1961 to Nina and Şerban Popescu, Camelia spent her childhood in the rustic town of Strehaia, Romania. After graduating from high school, she attended the University Politehnica of Bucharest, where she received a masters degree in Computer Science in 1985.

Never content to sit still, Camelia applied to several graduate school programs across the United States, before gaining admission to Illinois Institute of Technology and settling in Chicago in 1994. She gained her PhD. in Computer Science from IIT in 2000, following years of research in distributed computing.

Her academic achievements paved the way to a career in product management at Lucent Technologies and, later, procurement management at Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia.

A lifelong student, Camelia pursued her MBA in 2010 from Northern Illinois University, where she was a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma International Honor Society. Not long after, she also earned her Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.

Perhaps though her greatest informal academic achievement was her mastery of her own medical condition and treatment plans. When asked how they worked so well together, her long-time oncologist would joke "she called all the shots, I just wrote the orders."

Beyond her professional accomplishments, Camelia took an enormous interest in experiencing other cultures. With her husband by her side, Camelia explored the world, often touching down on multiple continents within the span of months. Her appetite for adventure brought her from the top of Machu Picchu to the briny shores of the Dead Sea; from Down Under to dunes of Qatar; from the Tokyo Imperial Palace to safari sunrise wake-ups in South Africa.

And yet in all these travels, Camelia would make sure to return to Romania. Sometimes on the way to or on the way back from another trip, but always with bags packed to the brim with gifts for family and friends back home. On more than one occasion, Camelia and Florentin would return with 2 huge bags each and still nothing for themselves!

Camelia was also a politics-buff, a wine connoisseur and always the most fashionable one at the party.

She is survived by her husband of 33 sweet years, Florentin; her daughter, Bianca; her sister, Alina Radu; and her loving parents, Nina and Şerban.

A visitation will be held on Friday, June 8, from 4:00 - 8:00 p.m. at Hultgren Funeral Home, 304 N. Main St., Wheaton. The following day, a funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. following a visitation at 9 a.m., both at the St Joseph Orthodox Church , 412 Crescent St, Wheaton, IL 60187. Interment will follow at Wheaton Cemetery in Wheaton, IL.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations in Camelia's name to Northwestern Cancer Research whose team worked closely with Camelia. Donations can be made online at the link: bit.ly/cameliazlatea or over the phone by calling Terri Dillon at 312-503-4837.