Laszlo Szabo

Wellsville, NY - Laszlo Szabo, age 91, of Pine Street passed away on Monday February 16, 2015 at the Hart Comfort House in Wellsville.

Mr. Szabo was born in Nagyer, Hungary on August 6, 1923.  He was the youngest child in a family of seven.  He attended business school in Hungary, enlisted in a military academy, and served in the Hungarian Army.  During World War II, he defended Hungary from the invading Russian Army.  However, the German Army then incorporated the Hungarian Army and used it to spearhead offensives, causing enormous Hungarian casualties.  Laszlo and his group sought out American forces and surrendered to them.  As a POW, Laszlo was chosen to carry a backpack radio, which he carried under fire from the German Army.   He was detained in Munich and was scheduled to return to Hungary by train with other soldiers.  However, Laszlo escaped from the POW camp and avoided the train, which did not go to Hungary but instead went directly to a Siberian gulag for a lifetime of imprisonment.

In Munich, Laszlo found work with the International Refugee Organization in Germany, where he quickly became an officer and distributed supplies to refugee camps.  He married his wife, Yolanda, and developed an opportunity to emigrate to the US through the Church World Service.  In April 1951, Laszlo sailed aboard the U.S.S. Stewart, along with his wife, Yolanda, and two young sons, Zoltan and Emil.  After a brief stay in Scranton, Pennsylvania, he settled in Wellsville and began a 36-year career at Worthington Corporation, now Dresser Rand.  He was a dedicated employee and became President of the Local 1580 I.A.M.

Laszlo served the Wellsville community for half a century.  He coached the VFW Little League for eighteen years.  He was a life member of the Wellsville Rod and Gun Club.  He was active with the Kiwanis Club, Ducks Unlimited, and Trout Unlimited.  He was an avid bowler, fisherman, and hunter.  Most of all, Laszlo was a dedicated husband and caring father.  Laszlo is survived by his wife of 67 years, Yolanda Szabo, and six children - four sons (Zoltan, Emil, William, and James), two daughters (Eva and Kathleen), a special daughter-in-law, Brenda Szabo, ten grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.  Laszlo, we love you and miss you.

Friends are invited to call on Friday, February 20, 2015, from 4 to 6 pm in the J.W. Embser Sons Funeral Home in Wellsville. On Saturday a prayer service will be held in the Funeral Home at 10:30 am followed by a Mass of Christian Burial to be celebrated at 11 am in the Immaculate Conception Church in Wellsville. Burial will take place in the Sacred Heart Cemetery and in lieu of flowers memorials may be made to either the Hart Comfort House or to the Alzheimer's Association. To leave online condolences please visit www.embserfuneralhome.com.