John P. Biro, 82, passed away unexpectedly on Monday, January 15, 2018. He was born on May 6, 1935 in Budapest Hungary to Ibolya and Kalman Biro and was an only child. He was a child survivor of the Holocaust. In 1956, John was 21 years old and following the unsuccessful Hungarian Revolution, he decided to leave his homeland and head for the New World. The USA seemed like the perfect place for an ambitious young man. Upon his arrival as a refugee at Camp Kilmer in New Jersey, he was fortunate to meet and receive sponsorship from a generous family and thanks to his previous college training in engineering, he became employed as a technical assistant at Bell Labs in Murray Hill, NJ. This employment, coupled with previous two years of college experience at the Technical University in Budapest, Hungary, resulted in admission into the Princeton University Class of 1960 as a sophomore in the Mechanical Engineering Department. He stayed involved with Princeton Alumni for the rest of his life and he was very proud that he gave back to the university which provided him so much opportunity.
In 1960, shortly after graduation, he married the love of his life, Lois. He then enrolled in the graduate engineering program at Columbia University in New York City earning a Master’s Degree in mechanical engineering. His career officially began at Hercules, Inc. as a research and development engineer. During this time, he also became a US citizen and obtained secret government clearance to work on government projects concerning rocket motor casings for anti-missile missiles. After some time as government funded work slowed to a standstill, he joined Ciba-Geigy Corp. at their corporate headquarters in Summit, NJ in their composite piping venture as a product manager. A 1972 transfer to manage their oilfield equipment operations brought him, Lois and their two young children Jon and Brooke, to Houston, Texas.
In 1981, he accepted an assignment from NVF Company’s president – the then well-known financier Victor Posner, called by some the “inventor of the industrial conglomerate,” to set up a composite piping manufacturing and marketing operation. The new, NVF oilfield equipment division began its commercial operation in 1981. In the later 1980s, a downturn in the oilfield business combined with serious personal tax problems for Victor Posner prompted NVF to spin off their non-core businesses including the oilfield operation in Houston. Jumping at what appeared to be an excellent opportunity, John, with some partners, purchased the company and successfully operated it through the next 15 or so years until 2003 when he sold it to an international conglomerate that had a competing division in The Netherlands. Since that time, he had been retired and enjoying life.
His greatest joys were his wife and family. He was fiercely devoted to his family, humble and charming and truly a great American success story. An active part of his children and grandchildren’s lives, John cherished every moment with them. He had a special, unique relationship with each of his children and grandchildren and they all adored and admired "Jancsi" and looked forward to their time together. He will be deeply missed by his survivors including his wife of 57 years, Lois Biro, his son Jon Biro and daughter-in-law Amara Rosenstock Biro and their children Harrison, Alexander and Madeline and his daughter, Brooke Wachsman and son-in-law Seth Wachsman and their children Alexa and Julia.
Funeral services were conducted by Levy Funeral Directors in Bellaire, Texas on January 19, 2018.
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