Fraternity-Testvériség, 2010 (88. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
2010-07-01 / 3. szám
Fall 2010 Obituaries Helen Modory October, 1915-February, 2010 Pekin Daily Times, July 16, 2010 H elen has been a member of the HRFA for many years. She was Branch Manager of Branch 17 in South Bend, IN for about 40 years. Helen was born on October 3,1915, in South Bend to the late Charles and Mary Ker- estury. She, along with five brothers and three sisters, lived in South Bend most of her life. Helen moved to San Antonio, TX in November of 2002 to live with her daughter and son-in-law. This afforded her the opportunity to be near her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Helen was a life-long member of the Memorial Presbyterian Church (formerly the Evangélikus Református Egyház Templom) of South Bend, which her father helped fund. She was always there for the cooking and the baking. She was also a 75-year member of the Order of the Eastern Star and an honorary member of the Preceptor Phi Chapter of Beta Sigma Phi in San Antonio. Her husband of 58 years, Charles Modory, passed away on January 25,1996. Besides her parents and husband, all of her siblings preceded her in death. Surviving are her daughter, Janice Kay Enlow and husband Rodney, her granddaughter, Kimberly Gustafson and husband Mike, her grandson Shawn Tkacz and wife Marla, and four beautiful great-grandchildren, Hannah and Joshua Gustafson, and Jordan and Kendal Tkacz. Esther Elizabeth Patay March 7, 1918, Losonc, Hungary-July 14, 2010, Pekin Manor E sther Patay was born March 7, 1918 in Losonc, Hungary to Dr. Bela and Elizabeth Szilassy. She graduated summa cum laude from a Protestant girls’ school, Barmadas, in Budapest in 1938. She also attended the Pittman Business School in London, England, and studied one semester in Zurich, Switzerland. Her parents and her one brother, Bela J. Szilassy, preceded her in death. Surviving are her husband, Arthur of Pekin, her sister, Eva Todalagi of Paris, France; her four sons, Stephen of Palos Verdes, Calif.; Gabriel (Joyce) ofYardley, Pa.; Arthur J. of Peoria; and George (Muriel) of Evanston. She has six grandsons, two granddaughters, 10 great-grandchildren and a niece, Maria Gurovits of Zurich, Switzerland. In August 1940, she married Arthur Patay in Budapest, Hungary. In 1941, she gave birth to her first son, Stephen. The family then moved to her mother-in-law’s estate in Berreto which is now in Slovakia. While living there, she gave birth to her second son, Gabriel, in Losonc. They fled in two covered wagons in October 1944, as the Russian armies were approaching. She spent three and a half years in Germany with her children and had a third son, Arthur Joseph. During this time, her husband was captured by the Russians and spent three years in a Russian prisoner-of-war camp. In December, 1949, she and her husband and three children immigrated to the United States. They moved to Hopedale, to the Walter Birky farm, where her husband worked for two years. In 1951, the family moved to Pekin when her husband obtained work at Caterpillar Inc., and she had her fourth son, George. Esther worked 22 years at Bergner’s in Peoria. She was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church since 1951 where she taught Sunday school and belonged to the Ladies’ Society. She belonged to the American-Hungarian Association of Peoria, Pekin YWCA, Fine Arts Society at Peoria Lakeview, French club “Les Ames de la France,” Pekin Women’s Civic Federation, Friends of the Pekin Public Library, Tazewell County Genealogical Society, the “Used Treasures” Lutheran Church store, and volunteered over 1,400 hours as a member of the Pekin Hospital Auxiliary. In 1987, she received the Altrusa Community Service Award. She enjoyed good music, opera, symphony concerts, book discussions, played tennis, and participated in the yearly “Great Decisions” discussions and the Peoria World Affairs Conferences. She treasured her family and friends. She will be greatly missed by all. 28
