Laszlo George Kish

08/23/2006

Laszlo George Kish, 84, of 1739 Old Brook Road, Charlottesville, Va., formerly of Lee, died Wednesday at Hospice of the Piedmont in Charlottesville. Born in Budapest, Hungary, on May 18, 1922, son of Ferenc Lajos and Gabriella Hermann Kiss, he was studying mechanical engineering when World War II broke out. Although he resisted serving in the army, which was under Nazi control, he was taken from his home in the middle of the night and forced into the military, where he survived two years on the Russian front. Mr. Kish was a Hungarian freedom fighter during the 1956 revolt and manned a barricade on one of the bridges over the Danube River. After the revolt was crushed, he escaped to Austria and immigrated to the United States the same year with his sister, Alicia Reisz, and her family. Speaking no English, he began his life in New York as a day laborer, working his way up to several executive positions in the trucking industry. He became a U.S. citizen in 1961. An entrepreneur, Mr. Kish and his wife, Sallie Kate Park, built and managed the Black Swan Inn. They sold it in 1997 and moved to Florida. They settled in Charlottesville in 2002. He was a member of the National Antique Automobile Club of America and the Piedmont Region Antique Automobile Car Association. He and his wife were married in 1960. Besides his wife and sister, of Connecticut, he leaves two sons, Alex Kish of Palmyra, Va., and Robert Kish of Forest Hills, N.Y.; a daughter, Sallie Margaret Ross of Palmyra, and four grandchildren. FUNERAL NOTICE -- A memorial service for Laszlo George Kish, who died Aug. 23, 2006, will be held Friday, Sept. 15, at 1 at Unitarian Church on Rugby Road in Charlottesville, Va. Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice House of Charlottesville, to Doctors without Borders, or to any similar organization that serves humanity with compassion and dignity, The family wishes to express its heartfelt appreciation to all Mr. Kish's caregivers, including the medical staff at Martha Jefferson Hospital, Dr. Peter Generely, Hospice of the Piedmont and, especially, for the attentive and compassionate care by Dr. Rama Marri. Mr. Kish also leaves a daughter-in-law, Zveki Kish; a son-in-law, Michael Ross; four grandchildren, Natasha and Aniko Kish, and Corinne and Lidia Ross, and a niece, Julia Cziller Redick, her husband, Chad, and daughter, Alexia, all of Reston, Va. L.G. Kish epitomized the American Dream. He entered the United States speaking almost no English and worked his way up, becoming a successful entrepreneur. He was proud of his Hungarian heritage, very proud to be an American citizen, but most proud of his three children and four grandchildren. Friends may sign the guest book at www.hillandwood.com.

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