^{The News}
Dedicated to Austrian-Hungarian Burgenland Family History

Our regular tidbits include the monthly BB Facebook report, book sales and a Cartoon of the Month.

The remaining articles are our standard sections: A Historical BB Newsletter article, Ethnic Events and Emigrant Obituaries.

Ph.D. Researcher Needs Interview Participants: We have been contacted by Ms. Tamar Aizenberg, a PhD candidate in the department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University in Massachusetts. Her profile (here) on the Brandeis website shows that she holds a BA in History and Jewish Studies from Williams College in Massachusetts. While we strongly believe that this is a legitimate research request, as always the BB does not endorse such projects nor accepts any liability should you choose to participate; you should use all appropriate caution. That said, here is Tamar's request:



Hello! My name is Tamar Aizenberg and I’m a PhD candidate and researcher in Jewish Studies at Brandeis University in Massachusetts. I’m writing my dissertation on the grandchildren of Holocaust survivors and the grandchildren of Holocaust perpetrators. I approach the topic from a historical perspective, so I’m interested in what grandchildren know about their family history, how they learn what they know, and what they do with this information.

I’m looking for grandchildren of survivors and grandchildren of perpetrators to interview. Interviews are typically around one hour long and I will keep the identities of everyone I interview anonymous. I can do the interviews in-person or on Zoom. Although I am writing this call in English, I also am happy to communicate in German.

If you are interested in being interviewed and/or have any questions, you can reach me at tamaraizenberg@brandeis.edu.

Thank you in advance!
Tamar Aizenberg, PhD Candidate
Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, Brandeis University

A Day in the Life: I decided to pick a day (in early July) and run down the headlines making news in Burgenland, so here goes:

- A request for contributions to repair flood damage...
- A new Catholic pastor at Oberberg...
- A car driver killed due to a collision with a truck...
- An unlicensed drunk driver arrested, plus two speeders had licenses suspended...
- The traffic fatalities report shows a significant decrease (so far) this year...
- A farm building and tractor destroyed by a fire...
- A SPÖ magazine and political campaign begins...
- The Greens state spokeswoman begins a tour of Burgenland...
- New MRI machines and a 110 kV power line being installed...
- The second annual Schlaining Peace Conference begins...
- The Batthyánys celebrate 500 years of owning Güssing Castle...
- A wolf was spotted in Baumgarten...

And much, much more...



Galveston Immigration Center: I spent the last week of June in Galveston, TX, participating in a grandparent/grandchild educational trip organized by Road Scholars. My wife and I had previously taken our older grandson on a similar trip to Quebec and this time we were able to take both grandsons, as the younger one had aged into the program. While we did many "Galveston" things on the trip, the one I want to mention here is the Ship to Shore museum at the Galveston Historic Seaport that was opened by the Galveston Historical Foundation in 2021. This museum includes a computerized listing of immigrants to Galveston and an exhibit illustrating Galveston’s role in immigration history.

An estimated 200,000 - 750,000 immigrants entered the US through Galveston, which was the largest Texas city and port in its early history, with most immigrants entering before the United States had any formally-designated immigrant receiving centers (i.e., before 1875) and, therefore, before any federal records on immigration. Until the Immigration Act of 1891, individual states processed via their port-of-entry facilities all immigrants seeking admission to the United States. Year 1892 saw the opening of Ellis Island and the beginning of federal operation of immigrant facilities; however, more than 75% of all immigrants entered the US through the Ellis facilities during its era.

Because of this, efforts began in the early 1900s to redirect the flow of immigration from the Northeast to Texas (and then further west). Pelican Island, a marshy island across a quarter-mile channel from downtown Galveston, became federal property in 1904 and the government constructed an immigration center and quarantine station there that opened in 1906. Between 1906 and 1915 (when a category 4 hurricane damaged the facility and then another in 1916 forced it to close), nearly 50,000 immigrants arrived at this Galveston facility, including Bohemians, Moravians, Galicians, Austrians, Romanians, Swiss, English, Poles, Italians, and Dutch. Because of the hurricane damage, immigrant processing was moved across the channel for a while to where the Ship to Shore museum is now, but the flow of immigration largely ceased during WW-1 and then the US set strict quotas for each immigrant group after the war. The damaged Pelican Island immigration facilities were partially restored but little used, then abandoned in 1933 and eventually demolished in 1972.

Although once known as the “Ellis Island of the West,” its traffic was relatively light and was not a significant entry port for Burgenländers (but I'd like to hear from you if your ancestor came through it; please write). However, some 10,000 of its immigrants were Jewish, as there was a push for Jewish immigrants to enter the United States through Galveston rather than Ellis Island because “the vast majority of Jewish immigrants remained in the ghettos of New York.“ The Jewish Immigrants' Information Bureau, the London-based Jewish Territorial Organization, and Jewish philanthropists worked to stop the concentration of Jewish immigrants in the congested industrial cities of the northeast and, instead, to land them in Texas, where they helped them find jobs in the west.

A new 3-story station containing immigration offices, dormitories, medical facilities, a kitchen, and dining and recreational areas was built in 1933 in downtown Galveston and it was used as a small-scale immigration and deportee-staging facility until about 1940 when it was converted for use as a US Customs office.



Austrian State Treaty, 1955; Feedback: Two months ago I wrote about the Austrian State Treaty of 1955 and the events that led up to it, saying it provided "the basis for Burgenland's eventual recovery from the effects of World War II and its resulting Soviet occupation, and leading to its modern-day vitality." I then invited comments from those who lived through it.

Willi Hajszan chose to reply, and he writes:

Dear Thomas, I always enjoy reading the Burgenland Bunch Newsletter, but this one is of particular interest to me, as I lived in Burgenland and Lower Austria during the Russian occupation.

Güttenbach, where I was born and lived up to 15 years of age, was invaded in March 1945, after the Germans kept the Russians at bay some 10-12 km from Güttenbach, near Eisenberg, for some 4 weeks [Ed. Note: Güttenbach is in the north-central section of the Güssing district, whereas Eisenberg (an der Pinka) is in the southeastern wedge of the Oberwart district, putting it east of Güttenbach and on the border with Hungary]; one morning there were some 2-3 thousand Russian soldiers in a village of 1100 people; after two or three days, all the soldiers were gone and, from then, every evening around 5 pm, only two officers on horseback would come into the village to check if there were any stray soldiers.

In 1948 I joined a party of some 20 itinerant workers, and we were transported some 200 km to a manor near the Czech border. We stayed there for some 6 months and never saw a single Russian soldier.

In July 1949 I took an apprenticeship as a baker in a small town, called Deutsch Wagram, some 20 km north of Vienna, and as there was a military airport the Russians used, one would see at least 20 or more Russian soldiers every day, although they never interfered with us.

In that town there were four bakeries. The Russians took one and they used it to bake the bread for the soldiers, but, for the officers mess, we baked the white bread and bread-rolls and I used to deliver that, and I used to get paid for the goods once a week and never had any problem getting paid.

We in Austria were issued with an identification card, issued in four languages, English, French, Russian and German, but the only time we were asked for it was if we were crossing from the Russian zone into the English zone; the English never asked for it. As the train from Southern Burgenland to Vienna passed for some 10 km through the English zone, there some Russian soldiers would check our ID papers.

As far as the Carolingian influence in the Lower Burgenland is concerned, that is completely new to me, as the Graf Batthyány seems to have owned most of the land there for the last 500 years [Ed. note: the Carolingian era was some 1200 years ago, so not inconsistent with what Willi says here], and he settled many villages like Güttenbach, Punitz and others with people from Croatia some 500 years ago, and many people in some villages only spoke Croatian before the second World War, when Hitler tried to Germanize all the people there. Now almost all the people are either German speaking or bilingual in some villages.

Thank you for the great work you are doing with the BB Newsletter.

Willibald Hajszan

Richard Potetz also said a few words:

My parents left in 1935 so what they said regarding 1955 independence likely came from their siblings still in Burgenland. That message was that the reparations were quite harsh, claiming that essentially all Austrian oil was handed over. By 1951, lots of people from here visited Burgenland. There was no suppression, just poor people working hard. The horror stories of Russian occupation came from the first couple of years after the war.

I thank Willi and Richard for their comments. They are quite consistent with what I have read or been told previously.

Eva Hergovich also wrote to say, "I would like to respond in regards to the State Treaty of 1955, as I recall it quite vividly. Unfortunately, I am extremely busy at the moment. In a little while you'll hear from me." So we may have another report pending!



Burgenland Protestant Church Records Digitization Update: Back in February, I ran a "bit" saying that "...all Lutheran church books will be digitized and available on (the free site) Matricula by year's end." Unfortunately, I could learn nothing more about which records that referred to, i.e., the time period(s) to be covered and whether word Lutheran was being used generically to refer to Protestant records or specifically to refer to Evangelical Church A.B. records.

This month, news came out that clarifies some parts of this: it is the Evangelical Church A.B. in Burgenland that is digitizing its records as part of the anniversary "100 Years of Superintendence in Burgenland." Further, the announcement indicated that the purpose is "to help in the search for family history" so they are digitizing all church records in which baptisms, marriages and deaths are documented. The digitization includes "all registers from the 29 Protestant congregations" in Burgenland and is being carried out in the Oberkirchenrat ([Senior] Church Council) in Vienna.

The announcement also noted that about half of the registers have been digitized so far and the project remains on schedule to be completed by the end of the year. The images will be available online "freely accessible to researchers and hobby researchers," which I'm assuming means at no charge.

What remains unclear is the time periods to be digitized. The Burgenland A.B. Superintendency was only established in 1924... but Lutherans kept records for much longer. Will records from prior to this Superintendency be included? Unknown... but we can hope so and we are getting closer to finding out!

August 1 Update: Patrick Kovacs sent a note this date that states that the digitization project will be officially presented on the occasion of the “100 Years of Superintendency” celebration at the Reformation reception on October 19th. The note went on to say that "...it will probably take a little while after that until everything is available on Matricula. Access will be free." Given this, I looked at Matricula and confirmed that none of these images are yet available there... but soon!



Austrian National Council Elections Soon: The National Council (Nationalrat) is one of the two houses of the Austrian Parliament and is endowed by the Austrian constitution with far more power than the Federal Council, being where Austria's federal legislative authority is concentrated. Bills passed by the National Council are sent to the Federal Council for corroboration and, if the Federal Council approves of the bill, or simply does nothing for eight weeks, the bill has succeeded. If the Federal Council vetoes the bill, the National Council may still force it into law by passing it again, but has to meet a higher quorum than a regular resolution.

The National Council has 183 seats, currently led by a governing coalition (97 seats) of the ÖVP (71) and Greens (26). The opposition has 86 seats, divided among the SPÖ (40), FPÖ (30), NEOS (15), and Independent (1).

However, in two months there will be National Council elections and the first election posters are already in place, still, it won't be until the end of August before the election campaigns become intense.

In Burgenland, the ÖVP's goal is to hold what they have: two seats. Five years ago, the ÖVP received 37.5 percent of the votes across Austria and clearly achieved first place ahead of the SPÖ. In Burgenland, they earned 38.3 percent of the vote for Council seats, even ahead of the SPÖ's 29.4 percent, surpassing them for the first time in 60 years. In the coming election, their state list is led by current Council members Christoph Zarits and Niki Berlakovich.

The SPÖ in Burgenland wants to return to being the highest vote-getter and secure two seats, instead of the one they currently have. Christian Drobits came to the National Council in the last election but is not running again. Instead the SPÖ state list will be led by Illmitz local manager Maximilian Köllner and state manager Jasmin Puchwein, plus the mayor of Inzenhof, Jürgen Schabhüttl.

In the polls, the Freedom Party (FPÖ) has been strong, positioning themselves as 'We against the system.' It seems evident the ÖVP and Greens will emphasize their role in government while the SPÖ will focus on social issues and NEOS will present itself as a liberal economic party.



The Facebook Bunch (from Vanessa Sandhu):

Greetings, Burgenland Bunch!

Here’s a quick recap of what’s been going on in our Facebook group this month!

We now have 2215 members. Welcome to our 5 new friends! Please join us if you haven’t already! facebook.com/share/

Member Chris Wilkinson started a great discussion regarding the main ports of departure from Europe to the US and Canada. The top responses were LeHavre, Hamburg, Bremen, and Antwerp. Also receiving numerous responses were Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, and Southampton.

Member Christine Rubba shared videos, photos, and a recap of the Auslansburgenländer Treffen Picknic held in Moschendorf. Approximately 100 people were in attendance, including Miss Burgenland-NY Stefanie Weber. Member Fred Knarr also shared a link with more information about the festivities. meinbezirk.at/auswanderer-moschendorf

Member Fred Knarr also shared information about 5 athletes from Burgenland who will be competing in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris! Representing Austria are Lorena Abicht (windsurfing), Charlize Mörz (women’s gymnastics), Tanja Frank/Lukas Haberl (sailing), Valentin Bontus (kitesurfing) [Ed. note: he is actually from Perchtoldsdorf, Lower Austria, but trains at the Yacht-Club Podersdorf on the Neusiedlersee in Burgenland... and he won the gold medal in his discipline!], and Rafael Pallitsch (track and field). We wish them all the best of luck as they pursue their Olympic dreams!

Member Heidi Frank shared some great news: the Protestant Church Registers will soon be available online, free of charge! The collection includes the registers from 29 congregations and should be fully digitized by the end of the year.

If you have had your DNA tested through 23&Me, you might want to take a peek at your ethnicity results! They have been updated and are even more precise than ever. Recently added were the Greater Güssing and Eastern Austrian Plains groups!

Member Steve Huber shared some great photo memories of his band The Happy Austrians.

CONNECTIONS:

Member Sophie Marie Sip is looking to connect with others researching the Duld family from Kukmirn.

Member Horst Blasinger writes, “Does someone has information about the parents of Franz Kurta? He was mayor of Tschanigraben from 1947 to 1954. His gravestone carries the date of birth June 6, 1915. Unfortunately I couldn't find an entry in the birth register.”

If anyone has any information for Sophie or Horst, please contact me at HooftyRN@msn.com and I’d be happy to pass the information along to them!

Until next month, stay safe and healthy!

Vanessa



Update for book "The Burgenländer Emigration to America": Here is this month's update on purchases of the English issue of the 3rd edition of Dr. Walter Dujmovits' book "Die Amerika-Wanderung Der Burgenländer."

Current total sales are 1778 copies, as interested people purchased 2 books during this past month.

As always, the book is available for online purchase at a list price of $8.89 (which is the current production charge for the book, as we purposely choose not to make any profit so you can obtain the book at as low a cost as possible!), plus tax & shipping. See the BB homepage for a link to the information / ordering page.

The book is an excellent read for the Burgenländers in your family... so get theirs now!



Burgenland Recipes: (none this month... can you share one?)



Note: Our recipes sortable list has links directly to the recipes or food-related articles published in our past newsletters. You can access the list by clicking our recipe box (to the right). Thanks to the contributions of our members over the years, we have quite a collection of Burgenland recipes, some with several variations.

However, whenever we use up our unpublished recipes, this recipe section will become dormant. So, if you have a favorite family recipe, please consider sharing it with us. We will be happy to publish it. Our older relatives, sadly, aren't with us forever, so don't allow your favorite ethnic dish to be lost to future generations.

You can send your recipe to BB Recipes Editor, Alan Varga. Thanks!



Cartoon of the Month:

Liebe Landsleute in Pennsylvanien!

Im Jubiläumsjahr—im Jahr der Auslandsburgenländer—danke ich als Präsident der BG im Namen des Vorstandes allen Mitgliedern und Mitarbeitern herzlichst für die Treue zu unserer schönen Gemeinschaft und für den selbstlosen Einsatz.

Das Jubiläumsjahr möge uns Rückblick und Vorschau bedeuten; dankbar wollen wir rückwärts blicken und gläubig wollen wir vorwärts schauen. So bitte ich alle Mitglieder und Freunde der BG, auch weiterhin in der Burgenländischen Gemeinschaft—im Dienste der Landsleute und im Dienste der Heimat—mitzuarbeiten! Und sollten auch die Zeiten schwerer werden, durch Eure Treue zur Burgenländischen Gemeinschaft und durch Eure Liebe zur alten Heimat werden wir in gemeinsamer Arbeit auch die nächsten 20 Jahre schaffen! "Füreinander und miteinander!" Das sei unser Leitsatz für die Burgenländer in aller Welt auch im neuen Jahrzehnt. Diesem Leitsatz wollen wir auch an die junge Generation, an die Nachkommen unserer ausgewanderten Landsleute, weitergeben, daß sie erkennen, daß auch ihnen—wie ihren Vorfahren—das Burgenland Heimat bleiben will.

Mit Dankesworten, mit der Bitte um Eure weitere Mitarbeit und mit herzlichen Grüßen verbleibe ich Euer

Julius Gmoser, Präsident der BG

Translation (done with assistance from Bob Strauch):

Dear compatriots in Pennsylvania!

In this anniversary year—the year of the Burgenländer abroad—as President of the BG, I thank you sincerely, on behalf of the Board, members and staff, for your loyalty to our beautiful community and your selfless dedication.

May this anniversary year be an opportunity for us to look both back and ahead; we look back in gratitude and ahead in faith. So I ask all members and friends of the BG to continue participating in serving their fellow Burgenländers and serving their homeland! And if the times become more difficult, your loyalty to the Burgenland Gemeinschaft and your love for the old country will enable our joint effort to make it another 20 years. For each other and with each other!" That is our motto for the Burgenländers throughout the world in the new decade. We also want to pass this guiding principle on to the younger generation, the offspring of our emigrant countrymen, so that they realize that Burgenland wants to remain their homeland as well.

With words of thanks, to ask for your continued participation and, with kind regards, I remain your

Julius Gmoser, President of the BG

[2014] Comments [with current inserts]: 1975 was the 20th anniversary of the Austrian Constitution, which was enacted at the end of the post-WW-II era and the Russian occupation. 1975 also was declared the "Year of the Immigrants" in Burgenland and it was nearly the 20th anniversary of the BG, which was established in 1956. Julius Gmoser drew on all of these facts to declare the next 20 years for the BG as a joint effort with us in America. Julius died in 1985, unable to see whether his twenty-year plan would be a success. Now it is not just 20 years later, but nearly 40 years later [Ed: now nearly 50 years later]... and his BG survives and our BB was born and has already reached its 18th [Ed: now 28th] year.

I don't know if Julius ever thought there would be a web-based Burgenland organization like the BB... after all, the "World Wide Web" was only proposed in 1987 and the first web "page" appeared in 1990... but perhaps he dreamed there would be a companion emigrant-based society run by "the younger generation" ...he certainly asked for something like us (even if we arrived slightly beyond his 20-year window)!

But we exist and carry our share of the flame, keeping alive this joint relationship. However, as BB president, I wonder too whether we will still exist in another 10 or 20 years—and, if so, who will be leading this organization. Will there be yet another "younger generation" to take over and carry on? Even before then, will there be people willing to join us as staff members when our older volunteers are no longer able to contribute?

[Ed: In these past 10 years, 10 BB staff members retired and 6 people joined, all being younger than me, so the answer is yes! As the currently longest-standing staff member, I'm still here but expect I will age out before another 10 years pass, and I'm sure I won't be the only one to retire in these next ten years, so consider offering your service.]

Like Dr. Gmoser, I will sign off this note with his slogan: "For each other and with each other!"  With words of thanks to all who have and will contribute to the BB, and to ask for your new or continued participation. Thus, with kind regards, I remain your Thomas Steichen, President of the BB.

4) BURGENLAND EMIGRANT OBITUARIES

Notburga Ross (née Sambold)

Notburga “Peg” Ross, 79, passed away unexpectedly at her home in Canfield, Ohio on Thursday, June 27, 2024.

Peg was born on December 9, 1944, in Dobersdorf, Austria, as the daughter of Rudolf and Josephine (Krammer) Sambold. At age 14, Peg emigrated from Austria to Sewickley, Pennsylvania, where she lived with her grandparents.

After graduating high school, Peg attended Robert Morris junior college and then moved to Youngstown, Ohio. Not long thereafter, Peg met the love of her life, Ronald J. Ross. Peg and Ron married on December 7, 1968, and remained happily married for nearly 52 years until Ron’s passing in 2020.

Peg enjoyed playing cards with her bridge group, socializing with family and friends, and volunteering her time to help others. In 1982, “Outstanding Young Women in America” recognized Peg for her volunteer work. Her many volunteer activities included: American Cancer Society Zone Chairwoman and fundraiser, March of Dimes volunteer, Mahoning County Bar Association Women’s Auxiliary member, St. Christine Home and School President and Room Mother, Girl Scout leader, and soccer coach. Peg was also a real estate agent for 20 years until retiring. One of Peg’s greatest joys in life was baking and cooking for family and friends. It was common for Peg to bake one of her famous desserts or prepare dinner, unsolicited, for extended family or a friend in the neighborhood. Peg was truly a people person, had many friends, and was loved by everyone she met. Just in the days since her passing, friends and family have referred to Peg as an angel, having a heart of gold, being one of the most caring and loving people they ever met, a wonderful person, generous, elegant, charming, and fun. Peg was all that and more. In her eyes, Peg’s finest accomplishment was being the best mother a son and daughter could ever ask for, a devoted and loving wife to Ron, and a loving “Oma” to her grandchildren. Family was always Peg’s foremost priority.

Peg is survived by her son, Douglas (Pamela) Ross of Canfield, daughter, Nicole (Brian) Truby of Houston, Texas, and her five grandchildren, Kate, Jacob, and Lauren Ross, and Olivia and Ryan Truby. Peg also leaves behind four sisters in Austria, Roswitha (Adi) Bergman, Eveline (Harold) Hochstrasser, Gabriella Kroboth, and Doris (Peter) Ohner, a brother and sister in California, Eric (Anna) Sambold, and Karen (Ken) Dana, stepdaughter, Tamara Shane, and step-granddaughter, Krystal Bieri, nieces, Tamara Cleevely and Barbara Gonda, and nephew, Donald Belosic, Jr., all of whom she loved.

Peg was extremely grateful for her multiple myeloma support group. Through the group members’ inspiration, encouragement, and comfort, although passing unexpectedly, Peg was winning her several year battle with multiple myeloma.

Family and friends may call from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. on Friday, July 5, 2024, at Vaschak-Kirila Funeral Home at 3100 Canfield Road, Youngstown, Ohio. No funeral service will follow. In lieu of flowers, the Ross family respectfully requests that tributes in Peg’s memory be made to the Mahoning Valley Second Harvest Food Bank, 2805 Salt Springs Road, Youngstown, Ohio 44509. Family and friends may visit www.vaschak-kirilafh.com to send condolences to the family. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Notburga Peg Ross, please visit our floral store.



Johann Matthias Prinner

Johann Matthias Prinner, beloved husband of Eileen, passed away peacefully with family by his side at home in Northford, Connecticut, on July 2nd, 2024. Born March 29, 1936, in Sopronbánfalva (Wandorf), Hungary, and a witness to many tragic events as a child, he spent his life building things back up after seeing them destroyed during World War II. Hansi to his German friends and family, he became John when he and his family immigrated to the United States in 1951. Aptly named, he was known for his strength, smarts, and kindness.

While a brilliant student during his days in Hungary, his family did not have the means or resources to continue his education in Germany. That did not deter him when he came to America. He joined the US Army as a non-citizen, despite the pleas of his high school teachers, who marveled at how masterfully he adapted after missing 2-3 years of primary school. Always a perfectionist, you would never have known English was his second language. That is when he started to build things. First himself, then his family, and then his community. After serving in the military for his adopted country during the Korean War period, he was naturalized, got his GED and enrolled at the University of Bridgeport. Few people know this, but he played on the UofB Men’s Soccer team that placed second in the very first Division 1 NCAA Men’s Soccer National Championship in 1959. Soccer was a past-time, but he had more important things to build.

He met his darling wife Eileen when she emigrated from Ireland to NYC in 1959. She became the love of his life, his passion, and his everything. Embracing family first, it took him several years to complete his bachelor’s degree in engineering from the UofB, but he did so with three children in tow in 1965 and became the first college graduate in his family. Among his many accomplishments was taking over the fledgling Recreational Soccer Program in North Branford in the mid 70’s (for free because he saw a need) and co-founding the North Branford Soccer Club. He and his partners built by hand what is now known as Calvo Field in Northford, CT. Never one for awards or accolades, he was an applications engineer at Emerson Electric, and AI-Tek Instruments, working quietly and expertly for over fifty years. He could be counted on to solve nearly any engineering problem relying on his slide-rule until the very end. He worked so hard and for so long that his family often joked that he might have retired and forgotten to tell anyone. Upon his retirement at 79 it was clear his colleagues and friends at work adored and admired him – none wanted him to leave. He was a self-taught very accomplished tennis player, ping-pong “icon” and regular participant in the volleyball and soccer leagues around town. He would often win close matches in ping-pong, only to tell his opponent that he had played left-handed. He was a sports-nut, but never missed a dance recital, concert, or game for any of his children or grandchildren, often traveling to Massachusetts, Pennsylvania & New York for “day trips”. He had unbelievable stamina and determination for an athlete who only played on weekends and could keep pace with teenagers late into his fifties, sometimes scrimmaging with the North Branford high school players to share his knowledge. He was a multiple sport Senior Olympics Champion way into his sixties. When he stopped playing, he loved his UConn Huskies!

Johann (John) is survived by his wife Eileen who he has been married to for 64 years and his children Catherine (Frank) of Wallingford, CT, John (Linda) of Cohasset, MA, Deborah (Kurt) of North Haven, CT, and Tina (Matthew) of Durham, CT. He is also survived by his brother Frank, as well as nine grandchildren Erika, Nicolette, Johnny, Patrick, Kelly, Kurt, Autumn, Austin, and Matthew and one great-grandchild Layne.

He was predeceased by his parents Matthias and Angela, and his sisters Ann, Frieda, and Eda. He never stopped building – he is our “rock” and our foundation.



Rudolf "Rudy" Gaugel

It is with broken hearts that we share the news of the passing of Rudolf "Rudy" Gaugel of St. Charles, Illinois. A loving and dearly loved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend. Rudy was born April 4, 1932, in Szombathely (Steinamanger), Hungary, the son of Karoly and Gizella (Wukits) Gaugel and died at his home in St. Charles on July 8, 2024, at the age of 92, holding hands with his dear ones.

Rudy was raised in Hungary where he learned his skills in Engineering and tool and die making. He later applied these skills working in the textile industry. At age 25 during the Hungarian Revolution, he along with his mother and sister, fled Hungary on foot in the dark of night. They safely reached the Austrian boarder where his mother's parents met them and took them to their home. After a brief stay in Austria, they were able to make their way to Chicago where they quickly found work and settled into a new life in America.

On October 14, 1967, he married Margaret (née Hanner) in Winnipeg Manitoba, bringing her back to Chicago where they began their family. In 1972 with their three children, the family of five moved to St. Charles and have remained in their same home ever since. Rudy was very active raising three children and serving his community.

During his working years, he was employed by Meister Brau, Munsingwear, and Sealy Mattress where he remained for 28 years. At Sealy, he supervised the setting up, maintaining and repairs of machinery, as well as teaching others how to keep the equipment in the mattress building process running smoothly. His expertise took him to many Sealy locations throughout the United States and internationally to Canada, Europe and Australia. Rudy loved soccer and for many years coached both boys and girls teams in Tri-Cities Soccer. In his retirement, he took up golfing along with more traveling. Music was always a big part of his life. He played piano, accordion and drums, and loved waltzing and polka dancing with Margaret. But his family was the most important to him and was happiest spending time with his children and grandchildren. A man of deep faith, he had been a parishioner at St. Patrick Catholic Church in St. Charles for over 50 years and served as a Eucharistic Minister and faithful volunteer at funeral luncheons.

Rudy was preceded in death by his parents Karoly and Gizella. He is survived by his devoted, ever-loving wife Margaret, his son Karl Gaugel, daughter-in-law Rosalind and their sons Ross and Rudy; his daughter Anna Pettyjohn and son-in-law Erik Pettyjohn and their children Emma Reinmiller (husband Jacob Reinmiller) and David Pettyjohn; and son Steve Gaugel and daughter-in-law Jennifer Fox and their children Elizabeth, Julia, Charlie and Gita. He is also survived by one great grandson James Rudolf.

In addition, he is survived by his sister Emmy Bodrogi, many dear in-laws, nieces, nephews and cousins, and a wealth of friends throughout the world. Many knew Rudy and loved him, but few will ever forget his sense of humor and his accent, which was a delight to hear.

A visitation will be held Friday July 12, 2024, from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm at Yurs Funeral Home 1771 West State Street, Geneva, IL 60134. The funeral mass will be Saturday July 13, 2024, at 10:30 am at St. Patrick Catholic Church, 6N487 Crane Rd. St. Charles IL 60175. Interment at Prairie Cemetery, St. Charles IL to follow. In lieu of flowers, kindly consider a donation in Rudy's memory to St. Patrick Catholic Church in St. Charles. Mass intentions for Rudy are also welcome.

NOTICE (Informal Terms and Conditions): The Burgenland Bunch (BB) was formed and exists to assist Burgenland descendants in their research into their heritage and, toward that end, reserves the right to use any communication you have with us (email, letter, phone conversation, data upload, etc.) as part of our information exchange and educational research efforts.
    ● If you do not want your communication to be used for this purpose, indicate that it is "confidential" and we will attempt to abide by that request.
    ● Correspondents who communicate with the BB without requesting confidentiality retain their copyright but give a non-exclusive license to the BB allowing us to forward to BB members, publish in our monthly newsletter or on our website, and/or subsequently and permanently archive all or parts of such communications.

The formal Burgenland Bunch Website Usage Agreement is here: Agreement

The Burgenland Bunch homepage (website) is at: the-burgenland-bunch.org