Anna Wenglasz

Anna Wenglasz

December 30, 1934 – January 15, 2026

Anna Wenglasz was born in Nagykáta, Hungary, where she spent her early childhood alongside her siblings, Margret Tarko and Andras Kalmar. At the age of nine, her life changed profoundly with the passing of her mother. With no known information about their father, Anna and her siblings were sent to a Catholic orphanage. When Anna was thirteen years old, she began a new chapter with a foster family in Farmos, Hungary.

As a teenager, Anna was known for her adventurous spirit and determination. She learned to parachute, ride a motorcycle, and proudly joined the Hungarian ROTC. During World War II, she showed remarkable compassion and courage, often sneaking food to people being held in a Jewish refugee prison near her village.

Anna graduated high school in 1952 with a degree in electronics and later moved to Budapest, Hungary, where she worked as a light bulb technician. Soon after, she met the love of her life, Ference Wenglasz, and they were married in 1956.

In 1956, following the Soviet invasion of Hungary, Anna and Ference made the brave decision to flee their homeland in search of freedom. To avoid capture, they carried their firstborn daughter, Gyorgyi, and traveled 195 miles on foot at night, in the dead of winter, to reach the Austrian border. They eventually found shelter in a refugee camp in Strake, Austria. Within a few months, they were sponsored to enter the United States, settling in Rochester, New York.

In 1972, the family relocated to Clearwater, Florida. Anna worked as a manager at McDonald's before she and Ference founded Clearwater Manufacturing, LLC, which remains a family business today.

Anna was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Ference Wenglasz, and her youngest daughter, Anna Juliana Wenglasz. She is survived by her children: Georgia; Gyorgyi (Endre) Kovacs; Frank (Linda) Wenglasz; and Charles (Pam) Wenglasz; ten grandchildren; sixteen great-grandchildren; and the stork has one great-grandchild on the way.

Anna's legacy of strength, resilience, and unconditional love will live on through all who were fortunate enough to know her.