Bethlen Almanac 1999 (Ligonier)
Halottaink - In memoriam
Mr. Sanislo was manager of the Manville Branch 215 of the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America. He served in that capacity for many years, and he will be remembered as a conscientious, hardworking and loyal worker of the Federation. Rev. Eugene Szabó 1923-1999 The Rev. Eugene Z. Szabó, a former Air Force chaplain who was pastor of the West Park United Church of Christ in Cleveland for 13 years, died on November 13,1999 at his home in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He led the Hungarian Reformed Church in Lorain for a short time before becoming pastor of the West Park Congregational Church in 1965. The church became the West Park United Church of Christ during Rev. Szabo’s tenure. After leaving the Cleveland area in 1978, Rev. Szabó took smaller pastorates in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, and South Norwalk, Connecticut. He retired to Virginia in 1988. Reverend Szabó was bom in Czechoslovakia to Hungarian parents, who brought him to the United States when he was a baby. He grew up in Passaic, New Jersey. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Elmhurst (111.) College in 1950. In 1953, he received a divinity degree from Eden Seminary in Webster Groves, Mo., and was ordained as a minister. While handling his first assignment at the Hungarian Reformed Church of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, he became an American citizen. For more than 20 years, Reverend Szabó was a military chaplain. He served in the Air Force from 1956 to 1962 and in the Air Force Reserves from 1964 to 1980. He was awarded an Air Force Commendation Medal for his work as a chaplain with the Strategic Air Command at Goose Bay, Labrador, in Canada. The only Hungarian-speaking officer at the Air Force Base, Reverend Szabó earned the honor of aiding refugees of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, who were immigrating to North America. In 1958, he was named Air Force’s Outstanding Chaplain of the Year. He also received the B’nai B’rith Four Chaplains Award. While serving in the Philippines in 1959, Reverend Szabó was 229
