[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 141 (Monday, October 18, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2112]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                 TRIBUTE TO EDWARD BELA ``API'' UJVAGI

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, October 18, 1999

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the lifetime of 
contributions that Edward Bela Ujvagi made to his family, community and 
to our world before his passing on Monday, October 4, 1999. A resident 
of the city for over forty years, Mr. Ujvagi was an erudite gentleman 
of the first order. Popular and well loved, he embodied the ideals of a 
virtuous and loving generation. He will be missed by all who knew him. 
On behalf of Ohio's lawmakers and citizens, I wish to pay tribute to 
this outstanding individual.
  Born in Budapest, Hungary, on March 11, 1916 Mr. Ujvagi was an avid 
outdoorsman, taking part in activities such as ski jumping, glider 
flying, boxing and more. He became a precision machinist and master 
tool and die maker, founding a small company that specialized in 
producing precision analytical balances. His company, however, was 
eventually nationalized by the communist regime. When the people of 
Hungary revolted against this government in 1956, Mr. Ujvagi, at the 
age of 40, fled to the United States with his wife and four children. A 
fifth would be born in America. They spent six months in an Austrian 
refugee camp along the way. Despite arriving in our country with little 
more than the clothes on their backs, the family refused to give up. 
Mr. Ujvagi founded the Toledo Scientific Instrument Co. in his own 
basement with only a milling machine and lathe. A very capable man, he 
was able to use his skills to develop and expand this business into E & 
C Manufacturing Co. Inc., which has operated for more than four 
decades. In America, he was able to piece together again the precious 
shards of a dream deferred.
  Edward Ujvagi was truly representative of the ethnically diverse, 
blue-collar individuals who make up the city of Toledo. Having endured 
internment in a Russian labor camp following World War II, he was 
someone who understood freedom: he knew what it meant to have it taken 
away. He was not just a man who discovered a new life in another 
country; he was a man who embraced newfound opportunities and 
possibilities. He took an active role in his community, belonging to 
the Toledo Chamber of Commerce, St. Stephen's Catholic Church, the 
Hungarian Club of Toledo, Hungarian Communion of Friends and many more 
groups. Though fiercely proud of his heritage, he also worked hard to 
become an American citizen, accomplishing that in April 1965. Mr. 
Ujvagi was also a great believer in education and urged all of his 
children to expand their own horizons and pursue their own dreams.
  Christopher Morely once wrote, ``There is only one success--to be 
able to spend your life in your own way.'' Based on this, I honestly 
believe that Edward Ujvagi was successful in life. He lived his life to 
the fullest and will be remembered as a man of love, faith, integrity 
and accomplishment. On behalf of the people of the Ninth District, I 
would like to extend my deepest sympathies to Mr. Ujvagi's family, his 
wife Magda, daughters Magdalene, and Bernadette Ujvagi; sons Charles 
Edward J. and Toledo City Council President Peter Ujvagi; brother 
Istvan Ujvagi; and 17 grandchildren. May our thoughts and prayers 
strengthen them in this time of reflection and profound loss and may a 
lifetime of memories of this rare individual sustain them today and 
always.

                          ____________________