Joseph Girardi

1924 - 2018

Joseph Béla Girardi, age 93, passed away peacefully on January 20, 2018, at his home in Kenilworth. Loving father of Stephanie and Sulie, father-in-law of Raymond F. Kearney and Herwig W. Strauss, grandfather of Margaret E. Hathaway. He was preceded in death by his wife of 56 years, Dr. Elizabeth-Louise Girardi, nee Leisch. Joe was born on September 4, 1924, in Budapest, Hungary. He was the son of Tibor Girardi and Stephanie, nee Glatter. Joe had just begun college in Hungary when WWII began. He was captured by the Russians in February 1945 to meet their prisoner quotas and force-marched for three days to Gödöllo, a railway center east of Budapest. The prisoners were housed in a school that had been attended by a fellow prisoner, who showed Joe the best places to hide from the daily transport trains to Russia. In April 1945, the remaining prisoners were marched 50 miles to a camp near Jászberény, where Joe's left leg became infected and was operated on by a German doctor using a razor blade. Near death, he was sent to a Red Cross hospital where he was recognized by an Hungarian doctor who knew Joe's parents. The doctor was able to smuggle him out of the hospital and return him home to heal. Feeling that there was no future for him in Hungary, Joe walked to Belgium before the borders closed. He was able to contact his uncles in America, who arranged his passage to the United States. He enrolled at the University of Detroit on a student visa. His visa expired after one year, but after newspaper articles publicized his situation, more than 1500 students petitioned to allow him to stay in America. Senator Homer Ferguson of Michigan sponsored a special bill which was passed in the United States Congress, allowing Joe to stay in America. He proudly became an American citizen in 1956. He graduated in 1953 with a degree in political science and got a job in the import-export, and later, the large appliance division of Sears Roebuck and Co. in Chicago. He met his future wife Betty-Lou at a Spanish language class. They married on August 6, 1955 and lived in Kenilworth, IL for the rest of their lives. Joe collected books and, after his retirement from Sears in 1986, became an antiquarian book dealer. He was a member of the Caxton Club and Midwest Bookhunters. For decades he volunteered at the Evanston Library delivering books to daycare centers and homebound patrons. Joe was an adventurous eater, and loved browsing the Chicago Tribune for new restaurants to try. His family would especially like to thank Aleksandra Marzec, Erika Heck, and other caregivers who were such a help to him during the final years of his life. A memorial will be held at a later date. Arrangements by Wm. H. Scott Funeral Home, 847-251-8200.