William Penn Life, 2003 (38. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2003-03-01 / 3. szám
In Memóriám JOHN T. LESKO, SR. FORT MEYERS, FLA - The entire Association was saddened by the death of former Chairman of the Board John T. Lesko Sr. Mr. Lesko, 87, passed away Feb. 3, 2003, in his home in Fort Meyers, Fla., with his family at his side. Mr. Lesko began his service with the WPA in April 1979, following the merger of the WPA and the American Life Insurance Association (ALIA). As part of the merger agreement, Mr. Lesko, who was a member of the ALIA Board of Directors at the time, was named a member of the WPA Board in an advisory capacity. At the WPA General Convention that September, he was made a full-fledged member of the WPA Board. In November 1983, he was elected as a vice chairman of the Board, and was elected Chairman in June 1987. His last official act was to serve as chairman of the WPA's 31st General Convention. He was bom Dec. 21, 1915, in Bridgeport, Conn.,the son of the late Anna Santa and John S. Lesko. He joined the family business, the Lesko Funeral Home, in 1937 in Bridgeport. He turned his interest in the funeral home over to his son in 1987, and retired as its chairman in 1991, relocating to Fort Meyers. He served as a director and trustee for West End Savings and as chairman of the City of Bridgeport Park Board. He was a member of the old St. Stephen's Church and St. Ann's Church in Bridgeport. He is survived by his wife, Sara; a son, John T. Jr. (Barbara) of East New Market, Md.; two daughters, Jeanne Kaye of Black Rock, Conn., and Patricia Parkins of Becket, Mass.; a stepson, Charles Laukevicz; two sisters, Marie Grega of Fairfield, Conn, and Helen Musante of Milwaukee; nine grandchildren; 11 greatgrandchildren; numerous cousins, nieces and nephews; and many friends. He was preceded in death by his wife Jeanne C. Lesko; and a brother, James. Memorial donations may be made to the Hope Hospice, Blue Team, 9470 Health Park Circle, Fort Meyers, FL 33908. May he rest in peace. Please pray for the eternal rest of Mr. Lesko and all our recently departed members listed below: JANUARY 2003 0001 BRIDGEPORT, CT Doris T. Harrold Grace Tirnady 0008 JOHNSTOWN, PA Bernard F. Frick John J. Peterchak 0013 TRENTON, NJ Joseph E. Kelemen 0017 LORAIN, OH John E. Lapos John Papp 0018 LINCOLN PARK, Ml Mary C. Chelenyak Julius Colman, Jr. Barbara S. Loechner Veronica M. Yonish 0019 NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ Margaret B. Jones Joseph Smith, Jr. 0028 YOUNGSTOWN, OH Helen E. Cantor Priscilla E. Sikora 0045 CLEVELAND, OH Albert S. Hathy 0048 NEW YORK, NY Margaret G. Ashley Mary Sabo 0051 PASSAIC, NJ Irene C. Farkas Bobbie J. Hunt Stephen Tutuska 0088 RURAL VALLEY, PA Deborah Ann Berrie 0098 BETHLEHEM, PA Julia Tressler 0132 SOUTH BEND, IN Elsie R. Horvath Paul Presits Helen Stuckert 0133 PHILLIPSBURG, NJ Helen M. Bácskái 0159 PHOENIXVILLE, PA John J. Gutowski 0174 SCRANTON, PA Gerard A. Derrick 0189 ALLIANCE, OH Nancy L. Penny 0214 FLINT, Ml Margaret Pilinyi 0226 McKeesport, pa Helene G. Baker Theresia Meszar Anna Pikor 0296 SPRINGDALE, PA Frank Torok 0336 HARRISBURG, PA Edrie L. Kensinger Stephen Sipos 0352 CORAOPOLIS, PA Steve Bengura, Jr. Irene T. Smolar 0525 LOS ANGELES, CA Joseph Lazar 0590 CAPE CORAL, FL John P. Richards Mary Stanley 0705 MAYVILLE, Wl Margaret B. Berg Chester C. Kottke 0720 DEDHAM, MA Louis A. Tabaldi 0723 WORCESTER, MA Alfia M. Kotyla Edward C. Ledger 8019 PITTSBURGH, PA Armella A. Babilon 8020 McKEES ROCKS, PA Nicholas A. Liberatore 8075 WILKES-BARRE, PA Charles E. Dress 8121 ST. MARYS, PA Amanda P. Kraus Continued from Page 16 overwork, began breaking down, as these visions recorded in his diary in the summer of 1848 attest: I can read the stars: blood and blood everywhere. Brother kills brother, nationalities massacre each other implacably and insanely....My life has gone up in smoke! Pest is gone. Roaming troops devastate everything we had built. He tried to escape Hungary by boat and attempted suicide by jumping into the Danube, but was rescued. In September 1848, he was forced to seek refuge in the mental hospital in Dobling, Austria. The treatment Széchényi received gradually restored his sanity but not his peace of mind. Széchényi knew that he was not mad, and the prospect of being shut up for the rest of his life and the awareness of the terrible ordeal his beloved Hungary was suffering after a lost war of independence worked with such overwhelming force on his imagination that he refused to face it any longer. On April 7,1860, Easter Sunday, he put an end to his life with a pistol shot. "I cannot save myself...." were the last words written in his diary. But, the man who could not save himself did save his beloved country. He stemmed the doom that was about to engulf his backward nation by shaking his people out of a deep slumber and transforming the immense fallow field that Hungary had been into a land reborn and ready to resume the march toward her first millenium. Copyright (c) 1983, Rákóczi Foundation, Inc. Will« Pen life, March 2003 24
