Francis Elmer Szollosi

SZOLLOSI Francis E. 1920 - 2009 Francis Elmer Szollosi died Saturday morning, October 3, 2009, peacefully at his home in Oregon, Ohio, surrounded by his loving family. Francis was born March 3, 1920, to Mary (Molnar) and Michael Szollosi on Steel Street on Toledo's East Side. His parents were turn-of-the-century immigrants from rural Hungary. "Fritz" - a nickname given to him by his shipmates during his Navy years - was preceded in death by his mother and father and ten siblings, Mary, Elizabeth, Joseph and Steve Gall, and John, Michael, Helen, Margaret, Lola and Emery Szollosi. Francis met Mary Szombati in the Birmingham neigh-borhood, and the two were married on June 14, 1941. Fritz is survived by his wife, Mary, and their five children, Mary Ellen Breister (Robert), Francis Michael Szollosi (Marlene), Sharon Tully, Carol Findling (Dennis) and Anita Hooker (Lee); 10 grandchildren, Jim Breister, Dr. Diana Breister-Ghosh, Lisa Marsh and Laura Robinson, Francis John and Matthew Szollosi, Stefanie Polgar and Jeff Tully, and Jennifer Bush and Michael Findling; 24 great-grand-children and scores of devoted nieces and nephews. This past summer friends and family helped Fritz and Mary celebrate their 68th wedding anniversary. Growing up poor, Fritz started work at a young age. As a boy, he worked on a farm on Corduroy Road in Oregon for $1 a day and "all the food you could carry home." He helped his Dad give haircuts, pull teeth and repair shoes with rubber cut from worn tires. Fritz attended St. Stephen School and Waite High School, where he played football. In 1936, Coach Ken Mollenkopf helped Fritz enlist in the U.S. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) - a New Deal initiative that put men and women to work during the Great Depression. Fritz worked at a rock quarry outside of Henryville, Utah and contributed his labor to building roads and culverts on public land that would eventually become Bryce Canyon National Park and Grand Staircase of the Escalante National Monument. He gained 33 pounds that summer, "all muscle," he once reminisced. During football season, the Waite Indians traveled by rail to play the best high school teams in the country, and Fritz played games in Miami, Oklahoma City, Buffalo, and at the Yale Bowl in Peabody, MA, where the two teams fought to a 0-0 tie. His team was the first high school football team in the country to wear silk uniforms. His teams were Toledo City League Champions in 1937-38 and co-champions with Devilbiss and Scott in 1938-39. He later attended DiSalle College in downtown Toledo. Fritz enlisted in the U.S. Navy on October 27, 1943, as a Signalman, 3rd Class and was assigned service on a munitions-heavy Liberty Ship, which carried hundreds of thousands of pounds of America-made explosives around the world, making stops in ports in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and through the Asia-Pacific region. He was awarded the Victory Medal for service in these theatres. On July 12, 1944, he was wounded in action, sustaining injuries to his ankle, foot, right leg and lower abdomen, for which he earned the Purple Heart, awarded on February 9, 1945. Fritz was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy upon return to the Port of San Diego on December 17, 1945, and returned to his young family back in Toledo. After the war, Fritz worked at the Nabisco mill on Front Street, and later started his career for the U.S. Postal Service as a clerk at the Broadway Station, traveling daily via the buses of the old Community Traction Company. Moving up through the ranks over the years, Fritz served as Office Manager at Station A, located at Second and Platte on the East Side, and then as Administrative Assistant to the Postmaster. U.S. Congressman Thomas "Lud" Ashley nominated Fritz to become the Toledo-area Postmaster in the late 1960's. During the Johnson Administration, he was elevated to District Manager, a position he held until his retirement in 1975, which was his choice over relocating his family to Louisville, Kentucky. Upon his retirement, an editorial in the Toledo Blade called him "a Postmaster's Postmaster." In the ensuing years, Fritz joined the National Association of Arbitrators, traveling extensively, serving as a certified labor arbitrator. He also was a member of the Toledo Board of Realtors, working for Szabo Realty. Fritz was a charter member of the Birmingham Post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and a member of Christ-Dunberger Post #537 of the American Legion. Fritz was a life-long parishioner of St. Stephen Catholic Church, and served his church as an altar boy, sang in the Men's Choir from 1945 until 1992, and served as President of the Holy Name Society. Fritz and Mary were also close friends of the late Father Martin Hernady, with whom they often vacationed. As a life-long Democrat, Fritz returned to public service in 1976, winning a seat on the Lucas County Board of Commissioners, and earned re-election in 1980. Fritz served as President of the Board of Commissioners and as President of the Lucas County Convention and Visitor's Bureau. Among his civic involvements, he was a co-founder of the Birmingham Coalition, which saved the Birmingham Branch Library from being closed, and prevented the widening of Consaul Street, thus safeguarding the Birmingham neighborhood. Fritz was elected by his fellow elected officials to serve as President of the Toledo Area Regional Council of Governments (TMACOG.) Fritz was a member of the Hungarian Club, and was elected both to the Waite High School of Hall of Fame as well as the Birmingham Hall of Fame. Fulfilling life-long dreams, Fritz and Mary often traveled across the country to visit their family in San Diego, Philadelphia, Orlando and North Carolina. They also traveled together with friends throughout Europe, especially within Hungary, and visited North Africa and Mexico. The couple settled into their winter home in Naples, Florida in 1992. Visitation will be on Monday from 2 - 8 p.m. and Tuesday 2 - 8 p.m. with recitation of the Rosary at 4:00 p.m. and VFW Post 4906 Service at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday at Hoeflinger-Bolander Funeral Home, 3500 Navarre Ave. Funeral services will be at St. Stephen Catholic Church on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. where the body will lie in state from 9:00 a.m. until service.