Michael and Elizabeth Vekasi
Although born in Nagy-Szelmenc, Ung
Megye, Hungary, Mike Vekasi came to America when young and almost
all of his childhood memories were of Donora, Pennsylvania. There he
had a meager education but a wide assortment of life experiences. He
was about twenty-one when he came to Gary, Indiana, with his
parents, Peter and Julianna (Pataki) Vekasi, to whom he was devoted.
Most of his life he worked as a crane operator in the open hearth
but he also liked to tell of delivering sewer pipe to Glen park and
especially of his experiences when, for a couple of years, he drove
an ice wagon in what must have been one of the seamier sections of
town.As a young man, Mike enjoyed sports. In Donora he had played on
a football team called the Donora Independents. There was a Catholic
base ball league in northern Lake County and Mike was the catcher on
the St. Emeric's team for a while. If they were short players, the
priest would play outfield for them. Mike described it as fun with a
good crowd to watch. In August, 1924, at the First Hungarian
Reformed church, Mike married Elizabeth Bazin, daughter of John and
Barbara Bazin. Shortly thereafter Mike was injured at the mill when
he was crushed between the crane and a wall. He was fitted with a
brace but the mill doctors as well as the doctors at Mayo's Clinic
offered little hope that he would return to normal activities.
Although time and perseverance proved them wrong, he did suffer pain
from the injury all of his life. Even as his memory was failing in
old age, he would speak of the horrors of that accident. However, it
did not prevent him from completing over 40 years of service at U.S.
Steel's Gary Works before he retired in 1958.In 1925 Mike and
Elizabeth had a son, Michael Eugene, who attended Jefferson School
then on to Horace Mann. There were no more children until 1943 when
their daughter, Linda Sue, was born. By that time their son was a
student at Purdue University and soon joined the Army Air Corps
where he became a navigator. Both Mike and Elizabeth completed their
naturalization process to become American citizens in 1946. The
following year their son married Dorothy Wildermuth. He then went on
to graduate from Purdue, move to Michigan, and rear three sons.
Linda graduated from Horace Mann High School, married Ted Drygas,
and moved to Hobart. In 1974 Ted was killed in an accident. After
Linda reared their two sons, Anthony and Andrew, she married Joseph
Garcia.Mike and Elizabeth lived at 840 Van Buren St. all of their
married life until about 1968 when they moved to 5140 Delaware.
Elizabeth's health began to fail and she died in 1970. Mike lived
alone for about ive years then took up residence with his daughter.
He died in 1987. He was a man whose devotion to parents and his
family, loyalty to his employer, and integrity of person earned
respect from all who knew him. Dottie's notes in preparation of info
for minister before Dad Vekasi's funeral.Michael Vekasi was born
September 1, 1892, in Nagy Szelmenc, Ung Megye, Hungary to Peter and
Julianna (Pataki) Vekasi. He came to America about 1901 with his
mother to join his father, who had come earlier. They first lived
near Pittsburgh, then moved to Donora, PA, where they lived until he
was about 18 when the family moved to Gary, IN. Dad remembered his
youth in Donora with enthusiasm despite hard economic times. He
spoke of swimming in the Monongahela River, skating on home made
skates and sledding on the Pennsylvania hills. All of his life he
remembered a particular grade school teacher with great respect
appreciation.At an early age Dad Vekasi began contributing to the
family's income as a delivery boy then a helper on a meat wagon.
These were the first of many experiences that opened his eyes to
some of the world's undesirables and their unethical ways. Despite
this influence, however, he chose the path of honesty and morality
that served him in good stead all his life, and his loyalty to his
parents never wavered.As a young man, Dad participated in
sports--baseball, football and even a brief fling at boxing. He
loved to show the picture of his football team and tell stories of
some rough and tumble baseball games.Dad was not married until he
was in his 30's when he met and married Elizabeth Bazin. Almost
coincidental with the marriage was a very serious accident at the
steel mill (where he was a crane operator) which crushed his hips
and condemned him to recurrent pain the rest of his life. Despite
the doctor's predictions that he would never walk again, he not only
walked, but eventually returned to the mill and gave them 44 years
of service. His marriage was a life-long commitment. I remember how
caring he always was of Elizabeth, his wife, and his irreconcilable
grief at her sudden passing in 1970.Dad always seemed to have a
special affinity for small children from the birth of his own son to
his great-grandchildren. In a letter to his wife from Mayo Clinic
where he was receiving treatment for the injuries from the mill
accident, he speaks of his love of her and his thrill over their
baby boy. Eighteen years, later when Linda was born, he must have
felt especially blessed. I watched him through Linda's childhood and
she was his pride and joy.When we came for a visit with our three
little boys, he always seemed to know just the right thing to do to
entertain them. We never lived close enough to give him frequent
contact with our boys, but by the time Linda had her children, Dad
was retired and Anthony and Andrew were the light of his life. Even
in these later years when most of the time Dad mind withdrew into a
world of his own, a visit from one of his small great-grandchildren
brought the old light to his eyes and we'd hear his special chuckle
again.
Source:Sumbitted by: Dorothy Wildermuth
Vekasi - dvekasi@aol.comNOTE: I have written several biographies
which were published in Lake County Heritage, in 1990, with Ann
Weitgenant, Project Director and Supported by The Friends of the
Library. This is one of them...