Obituary of Frank Horvath

Frank (Ferenc / Feri) Horváth was born in 1947 to a Hungarian family in Nagyvárad (Oradea), in what is now Romania, and grew up in Budapest. Frank trained in violin and viola at the Conservatory of Music in Budapest with the intention of becoming a professional musician like his parents. However, at the advice of a physics teacher who noticed Frank’s natural talent in technical subjects, he went on to study at the prestigious Budapesti Műszaki Egyetem (Budapest University of Technology), earning a graduate degree in electrical engineering. Frank and his wife Gabriella (Gabi) met and were married in Budapest before political instability led them to leave their family, friends and careers in Hungary first for Germany (Frankfurt 1984, Munich 1986 with their new baby, Eszter) and then Canada (Toronto 1994, Halifax 2001). Canada afforded the politically stable environment that they were looking for but unfortunately brought unexpected hardship in employment as their Hungarian graduate degrees were not readily accepted. They started a small business together in design engineering and technical consulting, working through weekends and holidays, hoping that their perseverance would someday pay off. In his late sixties, Frank finally found a company, SHM Canada, where his unique, wide-ranging skill set was fully valued, forming a deep friendship with the company’s owner Dr. Vidya Limaye. In a twist of cruel irony, Frank was diagnosed with terminal cancer during the final stretch of a large design project whose completion could have helped the family achieve more stable financial grounds. Frank insisted on working throughout his illness and pain, but the project was ultimately left unfinished. Frank was an optimistic and positive person. He was passionate about his work and happily talked about his technical ideas and solutions. He was never too busy to help family, friends and neighbours to bring any type of equipment back to life, from broken sound systems, furnaces and cars to children's toys or pianos. Frank liked traveling and talked endlessly about his business trips with SHM to places as far as the Canadian Arctic. He loved the outdoors, and, with Gabriella and the family dog Balu, was a regular at Point Pleasant Park. Halifax always felt like home to Frank. The ocean, in particular, reminded him of sailing as a child with his father. Frank was an extrovert in all of his four main languages: Hungarian, German, English and French. He was open and unpretentious almost to a fault and respected honesty over artifice. He valued continued learning throughout his whole life, whether through reading, talking to people or by trial and error. Everyone who knew him well was struck by Frank’s intellect, and his wide-ranging knowledge in subjects such as world history and geography, linguistics, meteorology or European orchestral repertoire. His problem-solving skills often drew on this universal curiosity. Frank also maintained his devotion to music and was an active member of Halifax’s amateur music community. He made lifelong friends playing violin and viola in groups such as the Chebucto Symphony Orchestra, Nova Sinfonia, and the Early Music Society Baroque Chamber Orchestra, as well as singing in the EMSNS Madrigal Group and the choirs of St George's Anglican Church and All Saints Cathedral. He especially enjoyed making music with his daughter Eszter and always found time to participate in any event she was conducting. Frank was good-humoured, gentle and had seemingly infinite patience with people and in all his activities. He was persistent and approached every problem with the assumption that it could be solved. A missed medical diagnosis of what turned out to be stage IV pancreatic cancer was the first obstacle that Frank was unable to overcome. Incredibly, he never complained throughout his physical pain and confusion. He was determined to fight and to live, but lost his battle within a tragically short time. After only five days at Hospice Halifax, Frank died in Halifax, NS, Canada, on July 9, 2019. Frank was deeply devoted to his family. During clinical examinations several doctors noted how good his heart was: we couldn’t agree more. Survived and forever missed by his wife Dr Gabriella Várhelyi; daughter Eszter Horváth (Dr Patrick Bonnick); cousins Zsuzsi, Piri (Tamás) and Márti (Gábor), and their children (Budapest and Szentendre, Hungary); brother-in-law Ferenc Várhelyi and family (Budapest); second cousins Lilly and Kato (USA); and family dog Balu. Cremation has taken place, and plans for a memorial service will follow. In lieu of flowers, donations to the family or a charity would be greatly appreciated.