Joseph passed away on Aug. 20, 2017 after a short but tenacious struggle with ALS.  Józsi, or Joe to his friends, was born on May 20th, 1925 in Zajta, Hungary.  After surviving the hardships of WWII as a young man, he immigrated to Canada in August 1948 to join his father homesteading near Mistatim, Sask.  Joseph later moved to BC where he worked in the logging industry until he resettled in the Vancouver area in the mid-50s.  Here he worked in construction for three decades and was a loyal member of local 1611 of the Labourers’ Union.

Joseph was pillar of the Hungarian community in Vancouver.   He was active in the Vancouver Hungarian Cultural Society since 1954 and helped to settle the influx of refugees following the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.  Joseph was a founding member of Our Lady of Hungary Church, helped found the local chapter of the Hungarian Veterans Association and was an active supporter of countless community initiatives.  He took on whatever needed to be done and was a tireless worker in everything he did.

It was through his community work that he met and then married his first wife, Elisabeth (Gáspár) in 1958, who predeceased him all too early in 1984.  In 1987 Joseph married his second wife Elizabeth (Takács) with whom he shared his retirement until her passing in 2014.

Joseph is survived by sons Julius (Fruzsina) and Endre (Susan); grandchildren Kristopher (Sarah), Réka (Tim) and Elizabeth (Jeremy); and great-grandson Casper.

The family would like to thank Dr. Angelo Mazzarella, and Margit Buzás and all the staff at the Cedars at Beulah Gardens for their attentive care over the years and the team at St John Hospice UBC for their comforting and supportive care of Joseph and the family during his last few weeks.