Maria Erzsebet PINTER

She is survived by her husband of 49 years, Lazslo; children Emilia Kirsten (Michael); Zoltan, and Melissa; grandchildren Riley, Cierra, Kaila, Brendan, and Justin; her 93 year old mother Maria Nemeth; sisters, Erzsebet, Judit, and Borbala and their husbands Jozsef, Gyula and Sandor; and so many friends in the Hungarian Communities in Parksville and Nanaimo.

Maria was born in the small village of Vindornyalak in Hungary.  She was only two years old when she lost her father, Erno Simon, during WW ll in 1944.  Her younger sister never saw their father.  When Maria was 8, her mother remarried and had two more daughters.

Life under communist rule in Hungary was very difficult.  Maria corresponded for 6 years with her friend Laszlo, who escaped to Canada from Sopron after the 1956 Hungarian Uprising against the communist system.  In 1965, she succeeded in joining Laszlo in Canada, and they were married in November of that year.  Each time Laszlo was promoted by his employer, MacMillan Bloedel, they moved, until he retired from the Northwest Bay Division 1992.

Relatives and close friends are invited to attend a memorial in Maria’s honour on January 5, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. at the Nanaimo Hungarian Cultural Society at 4840 Hammond Bay Road, Nanaimo, BC.   Father Denes Lakatos officiating.

Donations in Maria’s memory may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society, at Unit E, 777 Poplar Street, Nanaimo, BC, V9S 2H7.