George Emeric Fodor

George was raised in the Jewish section of Mako, a small town on the southern border of Hungary, into a family where his parents owned a bakery which was attached to their home, and his grandparents lived with them. George fondly shared memories of eating cream puffs that his mother would make with bread fresh from the oven and riding his bicycle around the town. Probably because the bakery gave such a full-sensory memory of his happy childhood, not a day in his life would go by in his later years that he would have a meal that did not include some type of bread.

His life was forever changed when his family was deported by the Nazis in 1944. He recalled with a photographic memory even to the last days of his life saying goodbye to his father at a railroad station, never to see him again. His grandparents were sent to Auschwitz. He, his mother and sister were shuffled to several camps and eventually survived the war, but the horrors of the holocaust and loss of his family defined him for the rest of his life.

In 1956, his widowed mother told her two children to flee Hungary and paid to have them smuggled out. George had tried to escape communist Hungary once a few years before but was caught and thrown in jail for a few days. This time he and his sister did make it out and landed in the United States and eventually to Texas. They would not see her again for six years. During that time, he attended Rice University in Houston, Texas, where while becoming fluent in English, his earned his PhD in Chemistry. While living in Houston, he met Marjory, whom he married in 1965 and remained married to for 55 years until her passing a year ago, a death from which he greatly mourned until his passing.

George worked most all of his career at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, devoting much of his years of work to jet fuel research for the Navy. He retired about 25 years ago and pursued what became his passion: speaking at middle schools, high schools, college campuses and on military bases about the history and facts of the Holocaust. His greatest fear was that history unlearned would repeat itself. Videos of George sharing his testimony can be found on the internet. The Shoah Foundation also came to his home and recorded his testimony.

George was called "Apu", which means "father" in Hungarian by his grandchildren. He loved opera and classical music, was a voracious reader and forever student, especially the subject of astronomy.

George is predeceased by his beloved wife of 55 years, Marjory. He is survived by his two children, Cara Saltar of Plano and John Fodor (Miriam); his grandchildren, Garrett Saltar, Grant Saltar (Lindsey), Brooke Saltar, Lauren Saltar, Morgan Hausburg (Chris) and Evan Fodor; and one great grandchild, Emma Hausburg. He is also survived by his sister, Anna Whitehurst of Corpus Christi.

GRAVESIDE

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2021

10:00 A.M.

AGUDAS ACHIM MEMORIAL GARDENS

1727 AUSTIN HWY, 78218

Please click here to view the livestream of George's services.

Rabbi Rikki Arad will officiate.