Fraternity-Testvériség, 1998 (76. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)

1998-10-01 / 3-4. szám

Page 18

TESTVÉRISÉG

OBITUARY

REV. BELA PAUL BACSÓ

REV. BELA PAUL BACSÓ 1907-1998

The life of Rev. Bela Paul Bacsó is a testimonial to the American dream, where a 13-year-old orphan boy journeyed from his native land of Hungary through Ellis Island to fulfill his destiny as a servant of the Lord in this land of promise. He was born the 4,h child to John and Julianna Lacza Dienes on July 15, 1907, in the small town of Szeszta, Hungary.

Young Bela’s childhood was filled with traumatic experiences. When he was only 7 years old, Czech soldiers invaded his family home and engaged in two days of warfare with the Magyar army. The following year, his mother passed away at age 38. Four years later, he witnessed a fatal farming accident in which his 50-year-old father fell from a hay wagon, leaving Bela an orphan at age 12.

In December of 1920, Bela, his sister Julia, and Brother John immigrated to America on an old ship, the Mongolia, with only the clothes on their backs. After a harrowing 52-day journey, they arrived at the home of their sponsors, their aunt and uncle, Paul and Katalin Majer, of Toledo, Ohio.

In August of 1923, Irma and Paul Bacsó, the Chief Elder of the Toledo Magyar Reformed Church lovingly adopted Bela for 21 years. For this 16th birthday, they bought him a piano, which began his life-long love for music.

Bela’s education was unique. Since he did not speak English when he arrived in Toledo at age 13, he was placed in the 1SI grade at Birmingham Elementary School. He completed the ls,-8th grades in 3 Vi years. At age 17, he began his 4-year career at Waite High School and graduated 8th in a class of 410 students. What an accomplishment for a boy who had to first master the English language!

Bela began his college studies at the University of Toledo in pre-med. Realizing his parents could not afford the cost of tuition, he decided to become a minister and enrolled at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he earned his B.A. degree in June of 1932. He graduated from Lancaster Theological Seminary in May of 1935 and was ordained into the Christian Ministry a month later at the now Calvin United Church of Christ in Toledo, Ohio.

In July of 1935, Rev. Bela proposed to a family friend, Ida Tarczali, on their very first date. She accepted and they were married on October 26, 1935. (They celebrated their 63rd anniversary two weeks before his death.) Rev. Bela and his bride began their life-journey together serving the Magyar Reformed Church of Elyria, Ohio, where daughters Magdalene and Rosalie were born.

After 4 years, they moved to Gary, Indiana, to serve the Magyar Reformed Church, where daughter Elizabeth was bom. Four years later, they returned to Ohio to the Hungarian Reformed Church of Fairport Harbor, where their youngest daughter, Ida Ruth, was born.

In 1957, Rev. Bacsó answered the call to return to the Elyria Magyar Church. There, he continued as pastor until his retirement in 1976. In the next 6 years, he served as interim pastor at five churches in Ohio, including the Lorain Hungarian Reformed Church and the Columbus Hungarian Reformed Church. In July of 1996, Rev. and Mrs. Bacsó sold their home in Elyria and moved to Dearborn, Michigan, to live with their daughter Elizabeth.

Rev. Bacsó was extremely involved in community service throughout his career. The Kiwanis Club was an important part of his life for 40 years. In 1965, while president of the Elyria Kiwanis Club, he served as general chairman to raise funds to build a new library. He was a 50-year Mason and was Chaplain of the Elyria Men’s Senior Fellowship Club for 14 years.

At the age of 85, Rev. Bacsó became inspired to write his autobiography as a legacy to his children and grandchildren. Three years later, he completed this major undertaking of 20 pages strictly from memory and complete with photographs. In his retirement, he memorialized his love of music by recording his favorite Hungarian and English hymns as he played them on his organ.

Although he was relatively healthy throughout his lifetime, his body began to slow down with his advanced age of 91 years. On November 8, 1998, after a brief illness, this “good and faithful servant” peacefully entered into the “joy of his beloved Lord.”