Ivan Zoltan Szanto, a resident of The Inn in New Canaan, passed away April 19th.
Ivan Zoltan Szanto
Ivan was born in Budapest, Hungary on July 25th, 1925. Ivan grew up with his mother Margit, father Istvan, sister Martha, brother Oskar, and grandmother. He attended school and learned about the family business at the Dairy plant.
Ivan was forcibly conscripted into military service for the 2nd Hungarian Army in 1942 and his battalion was promptly sent to the front at the Battle of Stalingrad. After the collapse of the invasion, he was taken prisoner by the Red Army. On the forced march to Siberia as a POW, he escaped feigning injury and illness, making the long walk back to Hungary by moonlight to evade capture. Upon returning, he rebuilt his father’s Dairy business which had been bombed. However, it was later seized by the occupying Russians under their policy of nationalization once the business became profitable.
Ivan met his beloved wife Marianne (Mimi) in 1947, and they married the same year after a whirlwind romance of dates, horse races and drives in the Buda hills. They settled in Budapest and welcomed their daughter Rita in 1952.
In 1956, after the collapse of the Hungarian Revolution, Ivan and Mimi decided they did not want their daughter to grow up under communist rule. They escaped at night through the barbed wire and guarded border into Austria. The family was granted refugee status and flown on a military flight to Camp Kilmer in the United States. Supported by family members in New York City, but unable to speak English and without money, Ivan taught himself the language and found work first at Borden’s and then in the Import-Export sector. He made sure to repay everyone who helped his family escape communism, including the Austrian farmer whose house they stayed in the night they crossed the Hungarian border. Ivan worked in sales and import businesses to build his American dream for his wife and daughter. They became naturalized U.S. citizens in May 1962. The family lived for many years at 530 East 90th Street in Manhattan and spent weekends at Timber Trails in Sherman, Connecticut, where Ivan enjoyed tennis. After retirement, he volunteered with the Service Core of Retired Executives (SCORE), mentoring small business owners to build their own success.
Ivan was preceded in death by his wife of 75 years, Marianne B. Szanto and daughter Rita S. Englund of New Canaan. He is survived by his son-in-law Sven R. Englund of New Canaan, and his grandchildren, Kristen Katz (Dan) of Fairfield and Sven A. Englund (Courtney) of Providence.
A funeral service will be held at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in New Canaan on Saturday, May 16th at 1 pm. In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to the Waveny Care Network.