Agnes Vessey Whitley

Agnes Vessey Whitley, M.D., cherished mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, friend, and physician, passed away on April 7, 2024, after a stroke. She was 87. Agnes was born in Budapest, Hungary on March 21, 1937, to Ede Gyula Vessey and Lea Gallart Vessey. Her family owned a cork factory, and her maternal grandfather was Spain's consul to Hungary.

Her early privileged life was upended by World War II and the Russian takeover and Communist occupation of Hungary. The Communists seized the family's homes in Budapest and Lake Balaton and the factory, and her father was imprisoned for a time for being a "Capitalist." The family spent 1951-1953 in deportation in rural Hungary.

At age 19, Agnes, then a medical student, took part in the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. During the revolution, the family decided that she and her younger sister, Aniko, had to leave. Her 8-year-old brother Ede would stay with her parents. The sisters escaped over the border to Austria, and from Salzburg they left for the United States. They were brought to Camp Kilmer, a military camp in New Jersey hosting Hungarian refugees. They had no money, no relatives in the US, and spoke only a few English words. Agnes was accepted on a full scholarship to Vassar College, graduated with degrees in Chemistry and French, and then became the first foreign graduate of the University of Florida Medical School.

After she began a medical internship in psychiatry at Herrick Memorial Hospital in Berkeley, CA, Agnes met her husband of 50 years, John Truett Whitley, an anesthesiologist. In 1966, they moved to his home state of Texas and settled in Dallas. Agnes practiced and taught at Southwestern Medical School and later started a private practice at Presbyterian Hospital. Agnes became a well-known and highly respected psychiatrist in Dallas, holding several directorships during her career, including directing community health at Texas Women's University and serving as President of the North Texas Society of Psychiatric Physicians and on the MHMR Board.

She retired in 1995 and was soon very involved with grandchildren. She was so happy that her mother, still living, and brother Ede and his family left Hungary to move to Dallas in 1984. Agnes was an accomplished cook and gardener and genealogist; she helped discover many past generations of John's family. She loved nature, opera, books, art and antiques, throwing parties, champagne, and travel. She was different from anyone else one might ever meet, immensely generous, and life around her was interesting and fun.

Agnes is preceded in death by her parents, her husband, her grandson John Truett Whitley III, and her nephew Ede Kristof Vessey.

She is survived by her daughter, Ann Whitley Wood and husband David Finto; son-in law David A. Wood; son John Truett Whitley and wife Cindy; son Mark Edward Whitley and wife Stacie; her grandchildren Richard Gray Wood, Genevieve Lea Wood, John Landon Wood, Cal Joseph Whitley, Truett Michael Whitley, Emma Mady Whitley, Lea Nicole Whitley, and Toby Whitley; and her sister Aniko Vessey Paul and brother Ede Jozsef Vessey and his wife Lilla, as well as Aniko's and Ede's families.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Texas Women's University or the charity of your choice.

There will be a private family burial at Calvary Hill Cemetery, with reception following.