Ethel I. Andreko

Ethel Irene Kurjack Andreko, 96, of Indianapolis passed away the evening of Thursday December 12, 2013 with family by her side. Ethel was born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, the youngest child and only daughter of Irma Irene Tarnok and Joseph Kurjack. Ethel adored her four older brothers and took great pride in their accomplishments as they navigated, figuratively and literally, the worlds of their birth country of America and their parents' homeland of Hungary. In Ethel's written family history, she tells of a visit to Hungary in 1921 with her mother and her brothers Dennis (age 12) Edward (age 10) Barney (age 9) and August (age 6). Ethel was not yet 4 at the time, but her early life was as rich in experience as her family was frugal throughout difficult times, the Depression, WWII, and hardships to follow. This trip was one of many testaments to the spirit of family. "We left Lynch, KY on a summer afternoon on a Louisville & Nashville local train bound for Pinesville, KY. From there we went to Cincinnati, OH, arriving the following day. A horse-drawn bus, called a jitney, took us from the Louisville & Nashville Railroad Station to the Pennsylvania Station for our trip to Pittsburg, PA. This was also an overnight affair. From there it was on to Harrisburg, PA, the state capital. We arrived there in the late evening, so the final leg of our journey to New York was the following morning via the Pennsylvania R.R. We spent a night or two at a boarding house or a small hotel until the day of our departure across the Atlantic. We actually set sail from Hoboken, NJ on a small freighter called the S.S. Argentina, owned by the Italian Consulich Lines. In addition to freight, the ship had accommodations for about 100 passengers--in the hold of the ship. With six of us on the journey, we had to settle for the cheapest accommodations possible. The voyage took about 20 days with stops in Gibraltar, Spain; Naples, Italy; Patras, Greece; Dubrovnik, Croatia; and Trieste, Italy. From Trieste, we went by rail to Graz, Austria. A wagon transported us from Graz to Gyanafalva, a small Hungarian village, now part of Austria . . . . officials sent a box car to pick up the stranded travelers ( we Hungarians in Austrian territory). We were all locked up in the box cars and the doors were unlocked only when we reached the Hungarian border. From the border, an express train took us to Budapest and lastly, a local train brought us to our final destination, Sutto, about 40 miles from Budapest. It was from this small village that our mother had departed for the U.S. 14 years earlier." (And to this village, Ethel would return in just over 14 years) After two years in Hungary, the family returned to the United States. Ethel and her brothers re-acclimated to American culture and customs and thrived, while retaining a family and ancestral bond. In 1936, following Ethel's graduation from high school, she and her mother once again traveled to Hungary to continue Ethel's education in Budapest at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music. Unfortunately, her private teacher and faculty member at the Academy was not pleased with her American-taught techniques. Ethel later spoke about the endless lectures she received and the cynical references to her training. Undaunted, Ethel continued to play the instrument she so loved. She was once asked to play Christmas carols on Christmas eve for German soldiers who had taken quarters in their small home in Sutto, Hungary. In her adulthood, Ethel played violin in a community symphony at Indiana Central College, now the University of Indianapolis. She also played the piano at her residence at Berkshire of Castleton, and everyone knew her by the songs she sang. Ethel met John Andreko in Philadelphia in 1947. John lived in Detroit, but was in Philadelphia on business. John's family was of Hungarian descent and he was captivated by this young woman aiding in fund raising efforts for the needy of post-war Hungary. Ethel and John married in 1948 and had three children; Judith Kathleen (1949) John August (1952), and Clarisse Elizabeth (1953). Ethel was a loving mother, talented seamstress, cook and pastry chef, jill-of-all trades, active in school and community activities, excellent at secretarial, clerical, monetary and organizational functions, and a gifted musician who encouraged the love of music. At age 96, Ethel was preceded in death by her husband John in 1984, her son John August in May, 2012, John's wife Billie in 2003, and many, many dear family members. Johnny's middle name was chosen to honor Ethel's brother August/Augie, an aerial photographer whose plane was shot down by German forces in 1944. Ironically, Ethel had held the news of Augie's death from her mother for a year, just as we held the news of John August's death from Ethel. Judy and I chose to spare our mother the news of our beloved brother's illness from leukemia and death. Ethel is survived by her two daughters Judy Hurdle and Clarisse (Dean) Hawley; grandchildren Kelli (Ben) Hurdle Remo and Taylor (Kristin) Hurdle; great granddaughter Eliza Belle Remo. Grandchildren Lauren Hawley, Kristen (Brett) Hawley Crowe, Scott (Kate) Hawley and Eric Hawley. Also, many dear nieces, nephews and their families. Ethel typed 27 pages of her family history when she was in her mid to late seventies. She began with her great-grandfather Ferencz Tarnok, and ended in Beech Grove, circa 1954. I do not know if she wrote additional pages that were misplaced or lost or if 1954 is simply where she stopped. I have read this history several times, and am even more amazed at her life since her death. This woman who was our mother, our grandmother, our great grandmother, our aunt, our great aunt, our co-worker, our neighbor or our friend lived a life far beyond what any of us could imagine. Bless you dear mother. May you rest peacefully when you choose to rest, may you sing and dance when you choose to sing and dance, and may there always be music.