Csaba Polony

1944 - 2014

Csaba Polony
April 11, 1944 - March 9, 2014
Resident of Oakland
Csaba Antal Polony, 69, of Oakland, California, passed away peacefully at his home on March 9, 2014. He was born in Budapest, Hungary to János and Irèn Katalin Polony on April 11, 1944. His parents fled war-ravaged Hungary in March of 1945, and found refuge in Germany until they were able to immigrate to the United States in January of 1951. They lived in Kansas City, Missouri, for two years, where they had been graciously and generously welcomed by the members of the Westport Presbyterian Church, who sponsored their admission to the United States as Displaced Persons and provided them with settlement assistance. The family moved to Ohio, where Csaba graduated from Walter E. Stebbins High School in Dayton, and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree, with a major in history, from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He met and married Lee Polony, nee Roudebush, the mother of his two older children, Eva Ileana Polony, born November 14, 1966, and John Attila Polony, born December 16, 1970. The family moved to San Francisco in the fall of 1967, where Attila was born and where Csaba obtained his Master of Fine Arts degree from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1971. Csaba's second wife, Katy Polony is the mother of his two younger children, Ildiko Katalin Polony, born June 25, 1982, and Antal Csaba Polony, born September 16, 1986. With his friend, Richard Olsen, Csaba co-founded the journal TRA (Toward Revolutionary Art) in 1973. This publication was succeeded by Left Curve, which he founded and published for 38 years and which grew from an obscure Bay Area journal to an internationally acclaimed compilation of critical thought, political analysis, and artistic expression. The final issue will be published posthumously in June, 2014. Csaba retired from the University of California at San Francisco in 2013, where he had worked as a research assistant for more than thirty years. He travelled regularly to his beloved homeland, Hungary, where he visited his many relatives and formed many friendships. Although Csaba painted all of his life, in keeping with his independent spirit, he chose never to display his work, just as he chose never to accept advertising for Left Curve.
Csaba is preceded in death by his beloved parents, János and Irèn Katalin Polony, and his dear sister, Ildiko Margit Polony. He is survived by his sister, Dalma Polony Grandjean; the mothers of his children, Lee Polony and Katy Polony; his dearly beloved children, Eva Ileana, Attila, Ildiko Katalin, and Antal Polony; as well as his two grandsons who filled his life with joy, George Edward and Maximilian Abella Polony.
A memorial service honoring Csaba's life and legacy will be held at the Emerald Tablet art gallery, with poetry, music and speakers. If you plan to attend or wish to leave comments, please log on to www.CsabaPolony.com to register. We will gather to honor Csaba's life and legacy at 4pm on March 26, 2014. Contributions in lieu of flowers may be given in Csaba's name to the Hungarian Heritage Foundation: http://hhf-sf.com/en, City Light's Foundation: http://www.citylights.com/foundation or to The A-Infos Radio Project at http://www.radio4all.net.
The family wishes to extend our sincere thanks to Kaiser Hospice and all of those who provide their comfort and care to Csaba in his last weeks and days and to all of the friends and family who showed their love and concern for him by visiting, calling and writing him in his last weeks.