News

For Linda Boley Wineman Selmeczy, life took on fairy tale overtones when she met her future husband, Julian, whom she married, fittingly, in a European castle.

A native of Hungary, Julian fled that country after the Hungarian Revolution in 1958 and came to the United States. He returned there to wed Linda 36 years later.

"We were married in a castle in Budapest," Linda said.

But that was just the start of what she said was a storybook romance with a Prince Charming who worked as an electrical engineer for Westinghouse Electric, was athletic and intelligent, but above all, kind and caring.

"He was a pretty high-powered individual," Linda Selmeczy said. "He was so intelligent, he did crossword puzzles from the New York Times and the London Times. He was an avid skier and played tennis.

"He learned to speak English perfectly. He spoke Hungarian, English, Spanish, and he knew enough German and Italian to get you through Europe."

Julian G. Selmeczy, a resident of Delmont, died of cancer on Wednesday, March 2, 2005, at his home. He was 75.

He and Linda, who is a lifelong Delmont resident, met after his first marriage ended in divorce and her first husband of 27 years died in 1990.

"I was glad that he came into my life and we had that time together," she said. "He went through a lot with the cancer and the surgeries and the doctors, but I would go through it all over again to spend that time with him."

His friend of more than 20 years, Walter Beals, of Ross Township, Allegheny County, said he will miss Julian's company as well.

"He loved a good joke, and I played a lot of them on him," Beals said. "He had a good sense of humor. When we were together, we just enjoyed the moment."

Beals met Julian the same way that Linda did, through the Association of University People, a singles group based at the University of Pittsburgh.

"We kind of clicked intellectually and hung around here and there," Beals said.

He and his girlfriend socialized with Julian and Linda regularly and they often played tennis together.

Beals fondly recalled leisurely vacations to Cape May, N.J., that he and his girlfriend took with Julian and Linda.

"We used to sit and do crossword puzzles on the porch," he said. "He was quite good and knew a lot of answers, and he used to make it a competition. I used to really like doing that.

"I loved spending time with Julian and Linda. He always had something intelligent to add to the conversation, and I'll miss that."

Linda said her husband became an active volunteer after he retired from Westinghouse Electric. She said he volunteered at WQED with the Listeners' Choice Program, as a mentor in the Generations Together Program at the University of Pittsburgh, as a tutor in computer education at Westmoreland County Community College, and at the Life Work Center in Pittsburgh.

"He just loved being with people and feeling like he was doing something useful," she said. "He had to be busy all the time. He was like a mentor to me; he taught me a lot about life."

His son from his first marriage, Anthony Selmeczy, of Chicago, said, "He was a very sweet and gentle man. Very kind and generous. Very quiet but very intelligent."

Anthony also admired the courage his father demonstrated while fleeing the Russian occupation of Hungary. "It was very risky, because he could have been shot," he said.

A special memory he carries of his father came more recently, after his daughter Johanna was born.

"For me, I will always remember when he held his granddaughter for the first time," he said. "There was a lot of joy there."

Linda said she will remember Julian's strength and his courage in confronting his illness.

"He never, never complained," she said. "He believed in the acceptance of life, whatever happens."

She said that when he was first diagnosed with cancer, his survival outlook was estimated at six months. That was in 2000.

"He wanted to beat it," she said. "They called him the Energizer bunny at the medical center. They couldn't explain how he was still here. It (life) was precious to him."

But he also had a philosophy on death.

"He told me that when we die, we become part of the universe," she said.

In addition to his wife and son, Julian Selmeczy is survived by his daughter-in-law, Kristin Selmeczy, and granddaughter, Johanna Sophia Selmeczy, both of Chicago; a sister, Klari Selmeczy, of Hungary; and a stepson, David M. Wineman, his wife Julie, and their children, Hannah and Jacob, all of Carlisle.

Friends will be received today from 3 to 5 and 7 to 9 p.m. in the Barnhart Funeral Home, 505 E. Pittsburgh St., Greensburg. A funeral service will be conducted in the funeral home at 10 a.m. Saturday by the Rev. Frederick Heitzenroder.

• Most Read
• Most E-mailed
• Latest News