Joseph St. Clair

Joseph St. Clair of Scotts Valley, CA, died peacefully on Jan 4, 2008, at the age of 94. Joe St. Clair was a man of action, and followed a path marked by service to the communities of Monterey, Santa Cruz, and Scotts Valley.

After arriving in this country from Hungary in 1939 Joe and Maria St. Clair had their first two sons, Joe Jr. and Akos, and made plans to start a new life. But two years later, the bombing of Pearl Harbor forced them to return to Hungary. As a civilian English and history instructor having to endure the troubled times of war-torn Hungary, he performed many heroic acts. For example, during the German occupation of Hungary in the early days after the American entry into World War II he was assigned to monitor the young American crew members of one of the first B-17 bombers to crash land intact inside Hungary. His refusal, under the Geneva Convention, to reveal sensitive information the crew disclosed to him so angered the military authorities that they initiated Court Martial proceedings against him. In evading the authorities he was at times forced to hide in the more hazardous upper floors of apartment buildings during a period of frequent bombing raids.

During the war he cared for his family and friends who sought refuge in their apartment building's bomb shelter during the terrible 6-week long winter siege of Budapest when the U.S. air force bombed the city by night and the British bombed by day. Joe, along with others, risked their lives by leaving the bomb shelters to butcher frozen horse carcasses in the streets in order to prevent starvation-- one of many challenges they faced in order to help keep their families alive. Such experiences shaped his later priorities: time and devotion to family, service above self, leadership development and character building.

Once the German occupation was over and the Allied principally Russian occupation had begun Joe once again found himself a 'wanted' man--this time by the Communists. Employed as a translator by the American Embassy in Budapest, he read the news bulletins that came to the American press attaché and knew that the western nations were slowly giving up Central Europe to the Soviets and that this would not bode well for him or anyone else having links with the United States. People began disappearing and his suspicions grew when a friend at the Embassy failed to show up for work one day. Shortly thereafter, he found a note on his desk that read, 'you are next.' With the help of the Americans, Joe fled Hungary immediately. His family followed him to Switzerland a short time later, and they eventually made it to the U.S.

Thus Joe, Maria, Joe Jr., and Akos Szentkiralyi were forced to leave friends and relatives and begin life anew in the United States-this time after a name change as the St. Clair family. With the start of the Cold War and little more than a letter of recommendation from the Catholic Primate of Hungary Cardinal Josef Mindszenty, Joe had to choose between positions either as a broadcaster with the newly formed Voice of America in New York City, or as the first instructor in the newly established Hungarian Department at the Army Language School later DLI-West Coast Branch in Monterey, California. He never regretted his decision to move to the West Coast.

In 1948, Joe became the founding chairman of the Hungarian Department, Army Language School in Monterey later Defense Language Institute. Joe was particularly proud of the Abraham Lincoln Award of the American Hungarian Studies Foundation presented to the Hungarian Department during the Old Monterey Bicentennial Hungarian Week celebrations in 1970. The citation read, in part:

"With the Lincoln Award, the American Hungarian Studies Foundation wished to recognize the unique role [the Hungarian Department] has played in American education by transmitting most effectively the Hungarian language and culture to more than 800 students; the department has won nationwide acclaim for its pioneering efforts in applied linguistic research and of developing language teaching techniques and materials which have been emulated widely throughout the United States educational system; the members of the faculty in the department have been distinguished scholars with exceptional ability and a strong commitment to the teaching of Hungarian; individually and collectively the faculty has assumed significant civic and cultural responsibilities on the local and national levels; never before nor anywhere else in the world has the Hungarian language and culture been taught so effectively to so many students of non-Hungarian background as it has been by the Hungarian Department of DLIWC."

On the occasion of his retirement after 30 years of service, the Commandant of the DLI presented Joe with the Department of the Army's second highest award given to civilians for meritorious service. The citation read in part:

"Mr. St. Clair understood the responsibility of the manager as being primarily one of leadership in the highest sense of the word. In whatever position or assignment he received, Joe St. Clair was invariably an enlightened guide, a relentless, demanding, but inspiring leader of both his students and his faculty. Numerous students of all ranks in the service, or now out of the service, are richer human beings thanks to Joseph St. Clair's teaching and personal attention...to guide, train and stimulate the DLI faculty was probably what Joe St. Clair most wanted and could best do. Yet, his superior management ability and broad professional expertise was needed in another critical assignment and in 1977 he became chairman of the Multi- Language Department that included seven languages: Hungarian, Albanian, Chinese-Cantonese, Danish, Dutch/Flemish, Norwegian, and Swedish. The complexities, both pedagogical and administrative, of this unique department were such that only a man of Joe St. Clair's competence and authority could have obtained satisfactory results while at the same time, clearly document that the Multi-language concept was neither effective training-wise nor, in reality, economical."

At the same time Joe was leading the Hungarian Department, he and Maria managed to successfully raise a family of four boys, first in Ord Village now the site of Seaside High School, then in two homes in Del Monte Park, an unincorporated area outside Pacific Grove. The second of these homes Joe built with his own hands next to the first home.

Wherever he lived Joe St. Clair made significant contributions to his community. This commitment began at the University of Budapest as leader of the Catholic men's service organization. It was here that he met Maria Naszodi, who coincidentally was head of the Catholic women's service organization. His dedication to serving others continued in the United States as an active member of the Pacific Grove Kiwanis Club and the Knights of Columbus. At one time Joe donated more blood than any other donor on the Monterey Peninsula.

Joe's contributions to the Monterey Bay Area Council, Boy Scouts of America, and the White Stag Leadership Development Program specifically, have left a legacy for others to emulate. He was Scoutmaster of Troop 129 in Pacific Grove, a Silver Beaver Award winner, a Wood Badge Deputy Camp Chief and course developer, and a recipient of numerous citations and special awards from the Boy Scouts of America.

Upon moving to Scotts Valley in 1972 the focus of Joe's volunteer activities shifted from Scouting to other organizations. As a Red Cross volunteer, he regularly drove the sick over Highway 17 to hospitals in Santa Clara County and assisted in local disaster relief efforts. Joe also served as president (1988-89) of the Santa Cruz Chapter of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees (NARFE). But it was the California Grey Bears that benefited the most during Joe's "retirement" years. As Chairman of the Board of Directors (1984-86) and Life Member of this pioneering senior citizen volunteer self-help organization, and with Maria at his side, he was involved in all phases of an increasingly complex operation. This included annual sit-down Christmas dinners for the needy held at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, distributing fresh and packaged foodstuffs to homebound seniors throughout Santa Cruz County, and operation of the largest recycling center in Santa Cruz County. Once or twice a week he might help harvest vegetables. Another day might be spent at the warehouse packaging them. And on Friday he would drive a loaded pick-up truck along a special distribution route in Aptos. As a member of the Executive Board he spearheaded the expansion of the Grey Bear's real estate assets and operations to its current size, and until fulltime care for Maria became necessary he could be found driving a forklift around the recycling yard every Saturday. He received numerous awards for his contributions to the Grey Bears, including a citation from Assemblyman Keeley, D-Santa Cruz, for over 10,000 hours of community service work.

Joe has been a constant inspiration to his four sons: Joseph, Jr., Akos, George, and Robert; his three grandchildren, and two great-grand children; and to the numerous members of his extended family of friends and relatives--both here and abroad, and to the communities in which he has lived, worked and played such a vital role. Cremation will take place and his ashes will be placed next to Maria, his wife for 62 years, in the Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, Santa Cruz. A private family service is planned, and a celebration of his life will be announced. Messages may be left for family at Legacy.com or at gstclair1@msn.com. Memorial contributions may be made to the California Grey Bears, Santa Cruz; the White Stag Leadership Academy (P.O. Box 4727, Carmel, CA 93921); or to a favorite charity.