Obituary of Joan E. Holasek

Joan E. Holasek (nee Magyar), of Morris Plains, NJ, formerly of St. Petersburg, FL and Cleveland, Ohio, passed away after a long illness on the evening of Thursday, June 26, 2014. She was 94 years old. Joan was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio by her parents Andrew and Elizabeth Magyar. She lived in Ohio for most of her life before retiring to St. Petersburg, FL in 1980. In 2008 she moved to Morris Plains, NJ to be closer to her family. Always proud of her Hungarian heritage, one of her most cherished accomplishments was winning a National Hungarian Speaking Award in 1939 representing the First Hungarian Reformed Church of Cleveland, the first and largest Hungarian church in the United States. The prize was a trip to Hungary. Traveling with her mother to Europe via ocean liner they visited their ancestral village in Hungary. The trip was cut short when Hitler invaded Poland but it sparked Joan's love of travel, which she enjoyed throughout her life. She was also an accomplished Hungarian cook and baker. Most of all she enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren. In 1940 she married Paul Bekeny, Private 1st Class, US Army, who died serving his country in WWII. Their son, Dr. Dennis Paul Bekeny, was deceased in 2011. In 1954 she married William John Holasek, a widower raising his young daughter, Marilyn Janet Holasek, and together they had a son, Jonathan William Holasek. Joan was an executive secretary at TRW with extraordinary short hand and typing skills, a medical transcriptionist for several Doctors, and later the administrative assistant to the Chief of Staff at Cleveland Metro General Hospital for many years. Joan was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, New Hope Chapter #590 in Ohio, an active member at the Hungarian Church in Cleveland, and later at the Northeast Presbyterian Church in St. Petersburg. She found great joy in music of all kinds, she loved to dance, especially to Big Band music, and also to sing Hungarian Folk ballads. In addition to her husbands and first son, she was also predeceased by her brother, Andrew Magar, and nephew, Andrew James Magar. Surviving are her son, Jonathan W. Holasek (Leslie) of Mountain Lakes, New Jersey and a stepdaughter, Marilyn Holasek Lloyd of Fredericksburg, Virginia. She is also survived by 6 grandchildren; Deirdre Bekeny Van Amberg (Joel) of Tennessee; Audrey Elizabeth Bekeny Gurin (Dan) of Massachusetts; William Stacy Lloyd (Kara) and Holly Lloyd Saunders (Jeff) of Virginia; Josephine Farrell Holasek and Phoebe Stansfield Holasek of Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, as well as 11 great grandchildren; Peyton Thomas, Carter Patrick and Meredith Addington Lloyd; Jacob William and Grayson Lloyd Saunders; Jane Esther, Samuel Albert, Rebekah Tabra, Peter James and Susanna Ruth Van Amberg; Simon Paul Gurin; and nephew John Richard Magar (Eileen). The family asks that in lieu of flowers donations be made to Alzheimer's research or the charity of your choice. Joan's memory will be honored by the stories shared whenever her family and friends gather together. A family graveside service will be held in Cleveland in the fall.