John
Szablya, Professor Emeritus of Washington State University and the husband
of well-known Hungarian American author Helen M. Szablya, passed away on
October 29, 2005.
Professor
Szablya graduated from József Nádor University of Budapest as an
engineer. In October 1956, he was teaching at the Technical
University of Budapest when he and his wife became active participants in
the Revolution. They had to escape from Hungary after the
suppression of the freedom fight, and they settled first in
Vancouver. Since 1963, he and his wife had lived in the state of
Washington.
Professor
Szablya was an external member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, an
Associate Professor of the University of Washington, a Fellow of the
Institute of Electric and Electronic Engineers, and a dedicated and active
member of many organizations of the Hungarian American community. He
helped his wife in establishing and running the Honorary Consulate of
Hungary for the Pacific West.
Ambassador
András Simonyi and the Embassy of Hungary share the family's grief and
consider Professor Szablya's death a tragic loss for Hungarian Americans. His funeral mass will take
place on November 4, 2005 at 11 a.m. in Kirkland, Washington.
