Peter L. Paluzsay

PALUZSAY, Peter L., passed away on October 29, 2008 at the age of 71, living his dream of traveling around the world. While cruising through the Black Sea just days before his passing, he said, "This is the trip of a lifetime." He died unexpectedly of a heart attack while exploring ancient ruins in Priene, Turkey. Following the communist suppression of the Hungarian Revolution, Mr. Paluzsay emigrated from his homeland of Hungary in 1956. He quickly adopted the United States where he developed an undying love for the opportunities that it offered to the honest and the hard working. In 1963, he founded Colonial Electric Company which they operated for over 45 years. In 1988, he and his wife, Beckie, started Ewell Station Shopping Center in Williamburg, which they continued to operate until retiring in 2006. In recent years, he discovered the internet, which brought the world to his fingertips and triggered his passion for traveling. He is survived by Beckie, his wife of 45 years; his daughter, Maria Paluzsay and husband, David Byrd; his son, Michael Paluzsay and wife, Nga Paluzsay; and two grandchildren, Katherine Elizabeth and David Thomas Byrd. A close and honored friend put it best when he said, "To really know Peter was to love him. He was a man of great principle, passion, humor, sense of self, and just plain good sense." A funeral mass will be held for Mr. Paluzsay at the William & Mary Catholic Campus Ministry Chapel in Williamsburg, Virginia at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, November 11. Nelsen Funeral Home of Williamsburg is entrusted with the arrangements. Online condolences may be registered at www.nelsencares.com.


This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.