A Veszprém Megyei Múzeumok Közleményei 24. (Veszprém, 2006)

Varga É. Teréz: Szívvel, lélekkel, becsülettel. Főhajtás egy olyan pedagógus házaspár előtt, amilyet „nem terem már ez a mai világ”

WITH HEART AND SOUL AND HONOUR OBEISANCE TO A TEACHER COUPLE THAT IS NOT BORNE ANY MORE IN TODAY'S WORLD János Somfai and his wife, Mária Pados were teachers who set a good example with their whole lives. Both of them are from families dealing with trade. They studied to be teachers, but because of the lack of positions, they had to start their careers with doing intellectual relief work and private tutorship. In 1938, they went from Pápa to a little village in the Bakony, Bakonybél. After a small uncertainty the man became head-master and cantor. Her wife worked next to him without payment, and she also carried the burden of their family that was getting bigger and bigger. They were the intellectual general servants and lanterns of the village for 16 years. During that time, they lived through the Second World War and the service of the husband in the army. After his return, they had to restore the school that was totally broken into pieces, and their home as well. Then they started a new life on the ruins. In 1954, they moved back to Pápa in favour of their four sons' schooling. The couple joined in the cultural life besides work as well. The wife finally had the opportunity to train herself in the art of painting besides her teaching work. Her innate talent quickly unfolded. Exhibitions followed exhibitions, her pictures got even into the Hungarian National Gallery. Besides teaching and painting, she still had energy to do many other things as well. She was a voluntary field-worker of ethnography and local history, a protector of history buildings, and also an active participant of the movement of the knowledge of her country, and as a teacher she also popularised it. She created things of abiding value in all fields. Her two independent books and her many publications were published. Her scientific papers are preserved in Laczkó Dezső Museum in Veszprém, and in Jókai Library in Pápa. She gave 201 objects and 12 documents to the Museum of Pápa as presents. Soon after their returning to Pápa, her husband became the deputy headmaster of the school. He also worked as a school-inspector in the subjects of Maths, Physics and Chemistry. His educational and visual aids that he made with his own hands appeared in national exhibitions as well. His diary of war and remembrance written with literary fastidiousness was published in his old age. The Somfai couple brought up their all four sons to be university men. After their pensioning they still worked without stop. Their lives and work set a good example, the aim of my essay was to summarize them and to show respect towards these people. 322