Joseph Andras Csoendes

Joseph was born October 6, 1939, in the little town of Gyorsag, Hungary, located 50 miles east of Vienna. He lived in a happy home with his parents, Jozef and Julianna, and his sister, Erzsebet, in post-World War II, communist-occupied Hungary. During the Hungarian Revolution in 1956 Joseph and a neighbor dreamed of life outside of a communist country and hatched a plan to escape. His neighbor did not show up at the meeting point, but Joseph continued on with their plan. With only the shirt on his back and soldiers shooting at him from above, Joseph made it to the Austro-Hungarian boarder and crawled under the fence. He made it to Vienna and started a new life for himself.

Joseph finished high school and later enrolled himself in medical school in Innsbruck, Austria. He made many friends here and stayed in touch with them into the later years of his life. A fond memory of Joseph’s from this time was of a school trip to Rome in the late 1950s when he met Pope Pius XII. A new opportunity arose in the early 1960s for Joseph to emigrate to New York City in the United States. With the education he received in Innsbruck, he enrolled in a local college and quickly became a histology technician (prepares slides for microscopes after tissue samples are collected). This would be his life’s career for 45 years. He retired from this line of work in 2004.

He met the love of his life, Emma, and her son, Laszlo, in 1967. They made a modest life for themselves as immigrants in New York City. They worked hard for everything they had in their life together, always looking for new opportunities to make a comfortable living for themselves and their son. They left New York City in 1989 to follow their son on his move to Las Vegas, Nevada. Joseph became a grandfather in 1993, when he earned the nickname “Poppy”. This would be the name he was recognized with for the remainder of his life. His granddaughters, Kandyce and Kaitlynn, believe that being a grandfather was the greatest accomplishment in his life, always bringing kindness, laughter, and smiles to every day he spent with them.

Joseph has always had a love of classical music. Although he was not a performer himself, he had a great love of the violin and piano and attempted to learn throughout his life. His favorite composer was Wagner, and it would not be surprising to hear a symphony or some jazz music playing on a record player in his home. He always appreciated good food, especially that made by his wife. Emma always made traditional Hungarian dishes, which brought Joseph the comforts of his home country. They enjoyed traveling to the Caribbean together, taking multiple trips to Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, and the Bahamas.

Poppy will always be remembered for his kindness. He approached every person and situation with a soft and gentle demeanor. The love he had for his family will never be forgotten.