My grandfather was born in Ceglad, Budapest, Hungary in 1913 but moved to Cairo, Egypt in 1937 where he met and married his wife of over 60 years Suzy Kertesz (nee Franji). It was here that they produced their first child, a son Joseph in 1949. Paul's great grandparents had the name of Kruspak.
Two years later, they emigrated to Adelaide, Australiaon an Hungarian passport in 1951. They were not stateless like a lot of other Egyptians and this was because of grandfather's connection with King Farouk. They lived in Edwardstown for many years. and it was here that they produced three beautiful children - Joseph born in 1949, Allegra (my mother) born in 1952 and then Joyce was born 9 years later in 1961.
My grandfather or Nono as he was called by his grandchildren worked as a radio electrician for many years at .
He also had 7 grandchildren - myself (Nicole), Kylie, Arron, Leah, Ariana, Elisha and Marc and unfortunately he did not get to meet his great grandchildren Max who is 2 and Romy who is 3 months.
My nono died at the age of 90 suffering no ill health aside from his stomach which always gave him problems mostly because of his poor diet. He didnt believe in drinking water (water was for bathing in!) and only drank soda water and only ate sweet foods such as lollies and his favourite of all, cakes! We used to always tell him not to eat half a cake a night but he never listened and then he complained of heartburn and indigestion. No matter how poor his diet he was always skinny - I dont think he ever weighed more than 60kgs his whole life. He had long slender legs and no 'gut' to speak of.
As a child I remember he used to love watching "Sale of the Century" and he would never miss an episode. No matter what family function was on he would be at the TV at 7pm to watch the show.
He never spoke much about his parents nor his brother who died from pneumonia and in those days they did not have the right drugs for it. Nono used to tell me haow they would bury him in snow up to his neck as a cure but eventually he died from it. Paul was a quiet achiever but was always interesting to talk too and loved discussing politics and current affairs. He was always asking my father questions and quizzing him about what was happening in world affairs.
Nono died whilst collecting the mail from his letterbox one morning - the doctors say his heart just gave up. He suffered no pain and was in great mental and physical health otherwise. They say that a person who dies in such a way without any suffering must of been a great man, and he was.
We (me and the other grandchildren) used to always tease him about his Hungraian accent. He would say "fru-ite" instead of "fruit" and we used to say "nono nono your hair is on fire" and he would check his scalp and encourage our fun.
It was great that my nono made it to my wedding in January 2003. He sat at the head table proud as punch watching his eldest grand daughter get married. I was so lucky to have him there and it was only 3 weeks later that he passed away. I saw him once more at my cousin's barmitzvah in Adelaide the day my husband and I got back from our honeymoon. It so happens that I sat down next to him and decided to delve into his life back in Cairo when he lived there and how he knew King Farouk. He told me about King Farouk's life and his life living there. It was very special and something I will always cherish. He died 3 days later.
Nono is survived by his wife Suzy who still lives in the same house where he died. Unfortunately, my grandmother now suffers from dementia but she still remembers her husband like it was yesterday.
Nono we love you and will always remember you.
