Bryan Edward Plug, age 69, of Saratoga, California and Sarnia, Ontario, passed away surrounded by his family after a lengthy battle with cancer.
Bryan was born in Sarnia on May 2, 1954.
Bryan is lovingly remembered and dearly missed by Mary Ann, his wife of 47 years; his father, Hank Plug; his three children: Danielle (and her husband, Michael), Emily, and Trevor; and his three beloved grandchildren, Kaia, Arlo, and Ella.
Bryan also leaves behind his siblings Linda (Martin), Nancy, Don (Bonnie), and his “little brother” Joel (Pauline). Bryan will also be missed by his in-laws, Vicky (Wim) Vryburg; Jane Hodgson; Hilda (George) Douma. He is predeceased by his mom, Greta Plug, who has been missed since 2018 and his parents-in-law, Justus Kraak (1998) and Cornelia Kraak (2021), and brother-in-law, Ken Kraak (2019). Bryan will also be missed by many nieces, nephews, extended family, friends, former colleagues, and cycling buddies around the world.
Bryan started his career as a heavy machinery operator before studying to become an accountant. Then, he used his skill and expertise as a chief executive in global software companies. His software career moved his family first to the Toronto area, with SAP Canada, and then to Silicon Valley in California.
Bryan had a great love of playing sports and competing. He took this spirit of competition and skills to help change the lives of companies (and people in their jobs) to be more competitive and, more importantly, more fulfilling. Bryan also had a deep love of creating connections between people and building teams.
Some of Bryan’s favourite memories are coloured by two of his great passions: travelling the world and sharing time with his family.
These big adventures included when the family moved from New Brunswick to Toronto in 1987, watching the snowy fields of Quebec pass through the train window overnight when Danielle was a preschooler and Emily just two weeks old. Bryan often spoke fondly of our family’s European travels, including when he organized a trip to Manchester, England for Trevor and his fellow 18yo teammates to play in an international football (soccer) tournament. Another highlight included organizing global SAP hockey tournaments where he had the privilege of taking to the ice with King Börje (Salming).
After he retired in 2018, Bryan delved deeply into cycling. He made strong connections with the cycling communities in both Sarnia and Grand Cayman. The many miles that he logged on his bike brought him much joy and great friendships. Many doctors also commented that his heart was strengthened by his cycling hobby, affording him more time with his family during his long cancer fight.
Bryan wanted to take his own father for bike rides, and thus founded a Cycling Without Age (CWA) chapter in his hometown, Sarnia, which now has three electric pedal-assisted trishaws. The goal of this important work is to reduce social isolation and increase both mental and physical health for participants, gifts that cycling certainly brought Bryan.
Bryan organized an extended family “bike and barge” trip across the country of his heritage, the Netherlands, in 2017. This grand adventure—dubbed Fietstocht Plug—was such a success that an Ontario edition took place in 2018, followed by another Fietstocht in the Netherlands and Belgium in 2023. Bryan has set forth a plan to continue the legacy of Fietstocht after his passing, with a committee already in place (classic Bryan!).
Bryan and Mary Ann began their retirement dreams of spending half the year in Grand Cayman, a place of true beauty that brought Dad great joy. The global pandemic and Dad’s cancer journey cut short the plans they had made to grow old together in the sunshine by the sea.
Our days won’t be the same without Dad’s infamous “Plug jokes”, his ever-present trivia facts, his thirst for knowledge, his love of history and sports, his detailed spreadsheets, his generosity, and his love for his family.
Special thanks to Bayshore nurse Matt B.; Dr. Kim; Dr. Maddison; Dr. Lebert; the staff on the palliative care unit at Bluewater Health, Rachael and the rest of the staff at St. Joseph’s Hospice for their care, kindness and expertise to Bryan and our whole family.
Cremation has taken place. Family and friends will be received at Smith Funeral Home, 1576 London Line, Sarnia on Thursday, March 21, 2024 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. A memorial service will be held on Friday, March 22, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. at Smith Funeral Home.
Memorial donations to St. Joseph’s Hospice in Sarnia would be welcomed. Cheques only to the funeral home please.
