Rozalia Soos

On January 1, 2017; Rozalia (Rose) Soos passed away.  She was the devoted daughter of the late Lajos & Anna Varga; beloved wife of the late Joseph Soos; loving mother of Charles Soos, Nellie Horvath, & John Soos; cherished grandmother of Kristina Horvath.

Rozália Soós, née Varga, came into this life on March 30, 1934 in the small town of Szakony, Hungary, near the Austrian border, the second child of Lajos and Anna Varga. Rose grew up in the village of Diszel, about six miles north of Lake Balaton. Her father was a miller, and Rose and her four sisters and one brother spent their childhood in and around the mill. Her mother had been an educated woman who instilled her children with a love of learning and the arts.
She attended Catholic school in her younger years, and then went to high school in the city of Pápa, graduating in 1952. Soon afterwards she landed a job in the city of Sztalinváros, where she met Joseph Soos. In December, 1954 they married.
Then, in October, 1956, the Hungarian Revolution broke out. Although most of the fighting occurred in Budapest, civilians in Sztalinváros joined the revolt against the hated Hungarian Stalinist government. Joseph and Rose got hold of an automatic pistol and some hand grenades and patrolled the streets of the city with friends and co-workers. The Soviets withdrew their forces, and Hungary enjoyed about two weeks of freedom.
In early November of that year, the Soviets came back in full force, crushing the rebellion. At one point, a Russian tank fired a round into Joseph and Rose’s apartment. Fortunately, the shell exploded outside of the wall, thus saving their lives.
Tens of thousands of Hungarians began to flee the country, and Joseph and Rose also decided to leave. Rose was pregnant with her first child and was afraid her husband would be arrested, as were some of their friends who began “disappearing.”
In early February, 1957 they traveled by bus to southern Hungary with a half-dozen friends. Their intent was to cross the border into Yugoslavia, which was still accepting refugees.
They and their friends crossed the border on foot in the middle of the night during a cold rain and sleet storm. It was a harrowing ordeal and they were on their own. Anyone caught assisting them to escape would have been shot. They didn’t know whether they were crossing through mine fields, and they had to hit the ground when flares were shot up into the sky from guard towers spaced about a half a kilometer apart. Tank traps were also an obstacle that needed to be overcome. Joseph, wearing riding boots that came up to his knees, carried the others one-by-one through one of these water-filled tank traps. In the morning, the men drew straws to see who would knock on the door of a house in a village they had stumbled upon to ask if they were still in Hungary. They simply didn’t know for sure. Fortunately, they had made it across the border and were directed to a refugee station that had been set up long before.
Joseph and Rose Soos spent the next ten months in refugee camps waiting for an opportunity to come to the United States. In May, 1957, their first child, Charles, was born in a hospital near one of these camps. Finally, in November, 1957, they were taken to an airport on the outskirts of Belgrade and flown out of the country. After several stops, they arrived in Elizabeth, New Jersey with one suitcase, one dollar, a baby, and no idea how to speak English.
They were taken by bus into New York City, then put on a train to Baltimore. At the time, Rose had a cousin who lived in Baltimore, and it was through the sponsorship of the Associated Catholic Charities that they were taken there.
By the following Monday, Joseph had a job. He worked several different jobs over the years, finally retiring as a printer, while remaining involved in Hungarian affairs as an editor of a Hungarian newsletter, which had readers around the world.
A second child, Nellie, was born in 1959, and John was born five years later. In 1966, Joseph and Rose bought a house in Arbutus. Rose’s only grandchild, Kristina Horvath, was born in 1992.
Rose was a stay-at-home mother, who also became a hairdresser. She was very artistic and her home reflected her talents.  She painted, sewed, crocheted, played the piano, and was a fantastic cook and gardener.  Her interests included reading and music.  She learned to speak English well and adopted many American traditions, while also keeping her family surrounded by and involved in Hungarian ones and teaching her children to speak and write in Hungarian. She was much loved in the community and was always helping those less fortunate – especially Hungarian immigrants who arrived in Baltimore over the years.
In 2008, Rose was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and spent the last several years of her life at St. Elizabeth’s Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. Her husband, Joseph, visited every day until his death in March 2016.  They had been married for 61 years.
Family members and friends may gather at the family owned AMBROSE FUNERAL HOME, INC., 1328 Sulphur Spring Road, Arbutus, on Friday from 3-5 and 7-9PMwhere a funeral service will be held on Saturday at 11AM.  Interment will immediately follow in the Loudon Park Cemetery.  Donations in lieu of flowers may be directed in Rose's name to the Alzheimer's & Brain Research Center via www.alz.org