BORN

1927

DIED

2017

Louis Horvath Obituary

Louis Horvath

Bangor, ME - Louis Horvath, 90, of Bangor, Maine, formerly of East Brunswick, NJ, passed peacefully on December 31, 2017 at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine.

Lou was born March 29, 1927 at home in Newark, NJ, the second son of John Horvath & Jolan (Asboth) Horvath. Lou attended public schools in Newark, graduating from South Side HS in 1945. He served in the US Navy for 2 years. He enrolled at Washington State University in Pullman, WA where he met his future wife, Jeannette Evangeline Smith, also from NJ, who he married May 1, 1948. He graduated from WSU in 1953 with a degree in education. He continued his education all through the years, attaining his Master's degree & was working toward his PhD.

Lou raised his family in NJ, where he taught Industrial Arts and was Assistant Principal at East Brunswick HS from the time the school opened in 1958 to his retirement in 1987. He coached cross country & track, began the "turkey trot" races and made many other valuable contributions to the district. He & Jeanne moved to Maine in 1987. Too young to stay retired at 60, Lou taught wood shop at 3 high schools in eastern Maine for an additional 15 years. Lou played the trumpet, did metal & leather work but mostly was a wood guy, building & remodeling many homes including 5 for his family, the final home on Copeland Hill in Holden, Maine. He was smart, fun, outgoing & adventurous. He made a memorable impression on everyone he met. His greatest gift was encouraging his students, his athletes, his children, and grandchildren how to dream big & to live each day to the fullest, to not compare themselves to others but to strive to be their best selves & to always be kind & generous.

In his 30 years in Maine, Lou was a tireless advocate for the salmon restoration along the Penobscot River. He joined & quickly became the president of three salmon clubs as well as the Atlantic Salmon Federation. He was one of the original Bangor Troop Greeters & could be counted on to show up even for flights which came in at 3 am. In 2002, at age 75, Maine Governor Angus King officially declared March 29th "Louis Horvath Day" where he was honored in Augusta.

He traveled with his family extensively across the USA & Canada. In 1970, with his wife & three younger children, he took a yearlong trip to Europe in an RV he had shipped over. The goals were many but specially to visit his mother's home village Moca on the Danube River in Slovakia where he has hundreds of relatives. He was very proud of his Hungarian heritage, was bilingual & remained close to his many relatives & friends until the last day of his life. He loved Facebook & had reconnected with many of his students who have testimonials of their own on how he helped them to find their way & even changed their lives.

Lou was predeceased by his Uncle Alex Howarth who died in WW 2, both parents, his brother John Horvath and his wife of 66 years, Jeannette.

Lou is survived by 4 children, Alexander "Sandy" Horvath & wife Cherie of East Brunswick, NJ, Wendy Newmeyer & husband Jack of West Paris, Maine, Robin Zinchuk & husband Doug of Bethel, Maine & Randy James of Highland Park, NJ; 8 grandchildren, Alivia Horvath and partner Craig of Colorado, Kira Vos & husband Andrew of Colorado, Justen Horvath of NJ & Shonna Pietraczenko & husband Steve of NJ, Dan Zinchuk & wife Jen of Redondo Beach, California, Brian Zinchuk & wife Chaelley of Windham, Maine, Kevin Zinchuk & wife Emily of Brighton, MA & Matt Zinchuk of Bethel, Maine; and 5 great grandsons, Jackson & Caleb Zinchuk of Windham, Maine, Barrett & Beckham Zinchuk of California & Luka Vos of Colorado.

There will be a Celebration of Lou's Life on Saturday, March 31st, from 2 - 7pm at the Estate on Farrington Lake on Patrick St., East Brunswick, NJ. To plan for food and seating, an RSVP is needed by March 10th to [email protected] or [email protected]

To honor Lou's memory and his passion for veterans and their access to outdoor pursuits, please consider making a donation to the Veterans No Boundaries program operated by Maine Adaptive Sports and Recreation. Checks can be mailed to Maine Adaptive, 8 Sundance Lane, Newry, Maine 04261 with a notation "Veterans No Boundaries".

Published by Home News Tribune on Jan. 27, 2018.
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Memories and Condolences
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Lou was my shop teacher at Franklin School in Union, NJ, in 1954. He encouraged me to make a pair of wooden book ends, the only thing I actually created from scratch during my 73 years! I was so proud! I gave them to my daughter and told her the story, Thank you and rest in peace, Lou.

Bob Knobelman

January 27, 2018

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Memorial Events
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Mar

31

Celebration of Life

2:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Estate on Farrington Lake

Patrick St., East Brunswick, NJ

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