János Faragó Jr's Obituary
János Faragó was born on October 4, 1929 in Alsódabas, Hungary to János Faragó (born on January 20, 1901 in Kecskemét to Imre Faragó and Zsuzsanna Kocsis; died on February 2, 1978 in Ócsa) and Erzsébet Kecskés (born on May 24, 1904 to András Kecskés and Rozália Horváth; died in June 1955). He grew up with his older sister Irén and younger sister Magdolna in the family house at Szent István út 48 in Alsódabas. They grew up on the same street as their maternal grandparents and paternal uncle, Imre, a stonemason. Reared in a Reformed family, János made his confirmation on June 3, 1943 at the Reformed Church in Alsódabas. After completing elementary school (VIII osztály), he did a blacksmith apprenticeship at the shop of his father from December 1945 to December 1947. He successfully completed the examination for the blacksmithing industry on December 3, 1947 through the Gyón és Vidéke Átalános Ipartestület. During his military service, he also became a driver (gépkocsivezető) and was authorized to drive cars and trucks.
János met Ilona, his first wife, while delivering goods to her village of Kajárpéc. They only met in person a handful of times. Thanks to János’s meticulous documentation of his life, we know from his 1956 calendar that one of these few meetings occurred on July 28, 1956, when Ilona and her twin visited János at his sister’s home in Tata. Despite barely knowing each other, when János made the decision to flee, he drove to Kajárpéc to see if Ilona would join him. She said that she would not leave without her twin sister Irma Erzsébet, and so they stopped at Irma’s workplace, Richards Finomposztógyár in Győr, where Irma had to make a split-second decision of whether to join them. Irma decided to join them, and they made their way to the Austrian-Hungarian border, which they crossed on November 22, 1956. They were stationed in the refugee camp at Ried im Innkreis from November 23, 1956 until January 4, 1957. Ilona and Irma had a maternal aunt in Cleveland, Barbara Nyári, who could sponsor them, but János had no such connection. To stay together, he and Ilona married on December 15, 1956 in Ried im Innkreis. The next leg of their journey took them to Salzburg, where they remained in the refugee camp from January 4, 1957 until February 2, 1957. They arrived in Bremen on February 3, 1957 and departed from there on February 5, 1957 aboard the US Naval Ship General Nelson M. Walker. They entered the Port of New York on February 14, 1957 and arrived at Camp Kilmer the following day. On February 20, 1957, they departed the camp and boarded a train to Cleveland that arrived the following morning at 11:00 AM. They remained with the Nyári family on Parkhill Avenue until May 1, 1957.
János, Ilona, and Irma next moved to 9607 Buckeye Road, which they rented from Margaret Kushner (née Macey). During this time, they had an ecclesiastical marriage at St. Elizabeth Church on December 12, 1959. A few months later, on May 24, Ilona and János brought home their first and only child, Iboly (Violet) from Saint Ann Hospital. The small family of three moved three more times, to 2889 East 118th Street, 12519 Forest Avenue (owned by Alfred and Olga Toth), and 11722 Parkhill Avenue (owned by Joseph and Elizabeth Krusoczky). Unfortunately, their marriage did not last, and they divorced on February 9,1965.
Shortly after their divorce, János became a naturalized American citizen on July 23, 1965. The following year, he married Yolanda Toth on November 19, 1966, but they divorced on June 24, 1968. Between his two divorces, he lived at 2809 E. 120th Street, 11902 Buckeye Road, and 2953 E. 120th Street. He purchased his first house, a duplex at the corner of Buckingham Avenue and E. 124th Street, on October 10, 1972, half of which he rented to Theresa Lustig. He married his third wife, Julia Gondor, on November 29, 1974. He sold the house on July 14, 1976, and they bought a home on West Belmeadow in South Russell. In 1993, they returned to their homeland and built a home in Naszály, Hungary. On May 23, 2001, they divorced in Hungary, and János eventually returned to the United States on January 28, 2004 and rented a home on Torrington Avenue in Parma for about one year. He briefly lived in Barberton before renting apartments in Norton, Parma, and finally Fairview Village on Lorain Avenue in September 2016. From May 2018 until his death on November 6, 2025, he was a resident of Lutheran Home at Concord Reserve in Westlake, where he was well-loved and cared for by the staff of the Vineyards unit.
János was a hard-working man and took great pride in his work. For his first job in America, he worked as a blacksmith and iron worker from February 28, 1957 until he was laid off on February 18, 1959. Trico Machine Products on Grand Avenue (May 13-July 6, 1959), Bamberger Reinthal Company on Kinsman and E. 61st Street (July 14, 1959-March 1963), Artcraft Metals Inc. on Euclid Avenue (March 11, 1963-April 14, 1968), Shaker Rapid Car Shop on E. 71st Street (April 14-October 13, 1968), Van Dorn (October 14, 1968-August 6, 1970), Brite Metal Treating Inc. on Bessemer Avenue (August 24-December 11, 1970), and again Van Dorn Plastic Machinery on E. 79th Street (December 14, 1970-February 1991) benefited from his precision and commitment. Even after retirement, he worked at Nick Bucar’s Sohio station on Rt. 306 and Bell Road in South Russell from 1991 until 1993.
He was preceded in death by his parents, János and Erzsébet Faragó (née Kecskés), his stepmother Lidia Kecskés, and his sisters Irén Faragó (September 12, 1926-August 28, 2004) and Magdolna Pető (May 30, 1933-August 29, 2020), all of Hungary. He is survived by his daughter, Violet Boros, and his grandsons, Andrew and Nicholas Boros. He will be buried at the Hungarian Memorial in Sunset Cemetery next to his dear friends, Lajos and Teresa Kalasz. May he rest in God’s peace!
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