Elizabeth "Betty" Kish

Elizabeth "Betty" Kish passed away peacefully in Hollywood, Florida on February 2, 2018 at the age of 89. She is survived by husband, John; son, John Jr. and daughter-in-law, Kathy, and daughter Susan Kish Lilly and son-in-law, Sam; grandchildren, Kelley Kish, Kristi McClellan, Kari Knoblauch, Thomas Lilly and Daniel Lilly; great grandchildren, Joshua McClellan, John McClellan, Kate Knoblauch, Kelsey Knoblauch, Max McClellan, Julia Knoblauch, Mason Lilly, Myles Lilly and many dear cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.The family will receive friends, Friday, February 16, 2018 from 5:00 PM-8:00 PM at T. M. Ralph Funeral Home Sawgrass/Weston 371 NW 136 Ave Sunrise, FL 33325. A Mass of Catholic Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, February 17, 2018 at 9:30 AM at St. Bonaventure Catholic Church, 1301 SW 136 Avenue, Davie, Florida 33325. Private interment will take place at South Florida National Cemetery.  In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory can be made to an Alzheimer Charity of your choice. T.M. Ralph Funeral Home Sawgrass/Weston 371 NW 136 Ave Sunrise, FL 33325.  http://tmralph.com/obituary/elizabeth-betty-kish  954-587-6888 MY ROOTS by Elizabeth Tamas Kish (written circa 1986)      This is the story of my mother and father, Mom and Pop.  My father’s given name was Miklos Tamas and my mother’s name was Mary Tokar Tamas, but to their family, friends, and grandchildren they were respectively known as Mom and Pop.      Pop was born on August 28, 1888, in Vilipusta Zemplen Megye, Hungary.  Although this territory was annexed to Czechoslovakia after World War I, Pop always considered himself to be a true Hungarian.  Pop was the oldest of seven children born to Miklos Tamas and Mary Vidumanski.  Mary was born on September 6, 1867, and died on May 1, 1952, in New York City.  Mary was the daughter of Miklos Vidumanski and Mary Horvath, Pop’s grandparents.      Mom was named Mary Tokar, born August 21, 1896, in Satoralja-Ujhely, Hungary.  She was one of six children born to Andrew Tokar and Suzanna Simko.  Suzanna was born on August 6, 1860, and died on June 12, 1942.  Both Andrew and Suzanna emigrated to America in the early 1900’s, exact dates unknown.  Also unknown is the date of Andrew’s death.      Mom and Pop were considered peasants in Hungary, and lived a peasant’s life on a farm.  Mom had been previously engaged to a fine young soldier who went to war for his country, but did not return and was presumed dead.  Mom then met Pop, who had also served in the war as a Huszar, a horseman or cavalryman.  After a short courtship, Pop asked for Mom’s hand in marriage, and they wed on April 21, 1918.  Soon afterward, their first child was born, a son, but he succumbed to an epidemic that struck Europe.      Early in 1921, searching for a better life for his family, Pop boarded the White Starr Line ship, the Oceanic, and emigrated to America.  Alone and frightened, he arrived in New York on April 9, 1921.  After enduring the long voyage and several days on Ellis Island, Pop was welcomed to America by his sister Anna, who years earlier had emigrated to America and married an Italian named James Iacona.  As was custom, Anna was Pop’s sponsor to this new world, and was responsible for caring for him.      Soon after Pop had settled, he saved enough money from his job as a dishwasher and sent for Mom.  Mom sailed on the ship Orduna, and arrived in America on August 14, 1922.  I can still remember the many miserable stories Mom told of her 12 day trip, and how upon arriving in America, the ship was quarantined at Ellis Island for health restrictions.  Suzanna Tokar, Mom’s mother, also came to America on September 22, 1929.  She lived in Pennsylvania with Mom’s brother and his wife.      In 1930, Pop became an American citizen, a proud day for Mom and him.  Mom also became a citizen on July22, 1943.  Pop had difficulty learning the English language, and as a result difficulty in finding permanent employment.  He held several small jobs, such as a dishwasher and a projectionist.  During the Depression, he found work with the WPA, a federally funded organization.  I can still remember hearing him tell us stories of how he worked as an ironworker and helped build many of the bridges and buildings in New York City.  What Pop lacked in speaking English, he made up for in skill, hard work, and determination, soon earning a spot in the Ironworkers Union.  The Depression was a hard time for all.  Although Pop had work, times were still bad.  As a child, I can remember Mom and Pop telling stories of being poor, having to get food stamps, and standing in long lines to get the food.  Mom did her best to help out the family by hand-sewing lamp shades at night.      Soon after arriving in America, Mom and Pop had three girls.  First was Mary, born on July 22, 1923, next was Anna, born on October 26, 1924, and finally me, Elizabeth, known as Lizzie to my friends and family up North and as Betty to others after I married, born between 7:00 and 8:00am on Thursday, October 25, 1928.  A fourth child died at birth.      Although poor, we were a happy family.  Our lives centered around the Catholic Church, St. Stephen’s of Hungary.  We attended dances, picnics, bazaars, and festivals.  We truly had fun.  We lived in a Hungarian neighborhood, and like most emigrants back then, we associated with individuals of our own ethnic background.      Growing up in New York, we lived in many apartments throughout the city.  The following is a chronological listing of them:      1922     236/242 East 46th Street      1930     222 East 120th Street, 516 East 80th Street      1932     1334 Prospect Avenue (The Bronx), 927 Home Street,                    1402 Bristol Street      1935     1573 First Avenue (Yorkville), 428 East 82 Street I remember living on the 3rd floor of 1573 First Avenue.  It was considered a railroad flat back then because the rooms ran from the front of the house straight to the back (rear-yard), much like that of flat railroad cars.  I remember playing on the fire-escape and smelling a fresh blue plum deep-dish pie, made by one of our neighbors.   The smell is as clear today as it was the first time I smelled it.  And of course, somehow I always seemed to get a piece.      Pop took a job as a super, and we finally settled down at 428 East 82 Street.  This was a cold-water flat which was heated by a pot belly stove in the kitchen.  Growing up, I remember helping my father with his daily chores, sweeping the stairs and hallways, polishing the brass mailbox and door fixtures, and going down to the basement to shovel coal into the furnace to heat the hot water for the apartments upstairs.  Back then, many of our groceries and clothes were bought from men peddling their wares in the street.  I remember horse-drawn wagons filled with all kinds of fruits and vegetables.  Men would holler and we would all run down to the street to buy what we needed.      Growing up back then took great imagination, as we didn’t have the toys of today, nor the monies to buy such items.  Our imaginations were our toys.  We made use of things we had available to us, such as a mop stick or a bottle cap.  I remember playing stick-ball, marbles, jacks, and bottle caps.  These were the games of our times.  It didn’t take much money, just a spaldine, a bag of marbles, or a few bottle caps.  And yes, girls played stick-ball and marbles back then.  Mary was the jacks champion of our block and Anna was a “two-sewer batter”.      I remember playing all of these games, and in the summer, during the long hot days, we would run and cool off under the johnny pump.  It was fun, and we enjoyed the simple things in life.      Mary was my oldest sister, and she will always be my big sister.  Mary never was a small girl.  Anna was the middle sister and was considered somewhat of a tom-boy, and always had me following after her.  Mary married Walter Huthansel (07/04/14) on August 16, 1941, and they had two children, Patricia, born July 7, 1945 and Walter, born June 1, 1957.  Meanwhile, Anna met and married Stephen Varga (06/08/21) on October 29, 1950, and they had three children, Stephanie born January 27, 1954, Stephen Jr. born December 10, 1956, and finally Andrew born November 21, 1963.      I attended Public School 190 and graduated with an Academic Diploma from Julia Richman High School in 1946.  As all young girls my age, when I graduated from high school I had a dream of being a Draftsman or Lab Technician.  But like most teenagers, once I started working, I never did pursue my dreams.      My first job was with Greystone Press Publishing Firm, located on 59th Street and Avenue of the Americas.  At Greystone I started at the bottom, the mailroom, and eventually worked my way up to the accounting department where Greystone Press saw fit to send me to business school.      I met my husband, John Joseph Kish, at a Hungarian picnic in New York.  John was attending an electronic school in New York after being discharged from the service.  John was born to John and Teresa Kish on August 12, 1927, in Niles, Ohio.  He has a half-brother, Stephen Ference, born March 24, 1932.  Stephen married Helen and they now live in Virginia.  They have two children- Kenneth born September 25, 1963, and Amy born December 14th, 1965.      John’s natural father died when he was only 2 years old, and his step-father passed away on September 16th, 1965.  Teresa, his mother was born February 8, 1907.      John proudly served h is country during World War II as a Corporal assigned to the 120th Station Hospital Special Services.  He was in the service for 16 months and served part of that time in Germany.  John and I married on May 22, 1949 in New York City, and soon after moved back to his hometown of Niles.      After a short stay in Niles, it was back to New York City where John, Jr., was born on March 17, 1950.  Several months later it was back to Niles, where John took a job in the steel mill.      The job lasted only about a year when John was laid off because the government did not renew the company’s contract.      Out of work, we once again packed our bags and moved, this time to Miami.  That was in 1952 and here we stayed.  Our second child was born in Miami, on November 21, 1959, and we named her Susan.      John, Jr., married Kathleen Baumgartner on December 18, 1970.  Kathleen was born on April 9, 1951.  John and Kathleen have three daughters.  First came Kelley Beth, born on January 3, 1976, second came Kristi Alison, born August 7, 1977, and finally Kari Ann, born January 16, 1981.  John, Jr., is a general contractor and his wife, Kathy is a teacher.  Together with their family, they reside in Gainesville, Florida.      Susan, our second child, married Sam Lilly on March 26, 1983.  Sam was born on December 20, 1957.  Together they have two sons, Thomas Michael born on March 22, 1986, and Daniel Joseph, born on June 15, 1989.  Susan, Sam, and their sons live in Fort Lauderdale where Susan is a computer programmer and Sam is a teacher (Dean).      John and I both retired in 1985.  John retired June 1st from Dade County, where he worked as a Traffic Signal Technician, and I retired on May 1st from Dade County, where I worked as an Accountant for the Metro Transit Division.  We still reside in South Florida and are happily retired.