KARL TORNYOS
January 7, 1927 - June 10, 2022
Dr. Karoly (Karl) Tornyos passed peacefully on June
10, 2022, with his wife, Ann Kennedy Tornyos, of 49 years by his side. Born in 1927 in Salomvar, Hungary to Janos Tornyos and Ilona Jona Tornyos. He was given the name of his paternal grandfather who passed in 1955.
As a young physician in Budapest in 1956, he was witness to the Hungarian Revolution which set in motion a remarkable life. He escaped the Soviet attacks on Budapest on November 21, 1956, after inquiries from the Soviet supported Hungarian Secret Police (AVO). He quickly made his way to safety in Austria on November 26, 1956. After a brief time in Austria, he left for England and then, to join his sister and her husband who had recently escaped Hungary, to Salt Lake City, Utah. Hungarian refugees were welcomed in Salt Lake City by Catholic charities headed by Mrs. Roselee Norwood.
In Salt Lake, he re-completed his internship and residency at Salt Lake General Hospital under the tutelage of Maxwell Wintrobe, MD, who is considered by many to be the Father of Hematology. He left Salt Lake City to continue pursuing his medical career in Washington, DC where he studied at Georgetown University and worked at Walter Reed Army Hospital. While in Washington he found a role with the Veterans Administration which took him to Augusta, GA, Houston, TX, Charleston, SC and ultimately to New Orleans.
He met his wife Ann K. Tornyos in New Orleans and they were married on February 18, 1973. They lived in New Orleans until 2006 when they relocated to Bellaire, TX following Hurricane Katrina. They had two children: Karla Ann Tornyos and Wade Alexander Tornyos.
Karl Tornyos was a dedicated physician for 60 years and the chief of Hematology and Oncology at the VA and Associate Professor of Medicine for 20 years at Tulane University. Dr. Tornyos was often published in medical journals in the fields of both Hematology and Oncology.
He retired from the VA to join Dr. Lee Roy Morgan in private practice at Mercy, East Jefferson and Chalmette General Hospitals in New Orleans. Karl really enjoyed this 13-year period working with Dr. Morgan.
Karl was a patron of the Houston Grand Opera, the Houston Symphony, Chamber Music of Houston and Mercury. He was a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the Harris County Medical Society of Retired Physicians Organization, the Bellaire United Methodist Church, the American College of Physicians and the Southern Yacht Club of New Orleans. During his retirement, he took up writing and authored an autobiography among other works. He also thoroughly enjoyed the role of “Poppa,” taking his grandchildren to and from school and their many activities.
Karl Tornyos was preceded in death by his parents, Jona and Ilona Tornyos, stepfather Sandor Fekete, sister Ilona Konya, stepsiblings Rozsi Farkas, Pista Fekete and Sandor Fekete, and nephew George Konya. He is survived by his wife Ann K. Tornyos, children Karla Ann Crabtree and Wade Tornyos, niece Ilona Konya, nephew John Konya, and grandchildren Ann Katherine Crabtree and Charles Kennedy Crabtree. He is also survived by dear family member, Veronica Lopez.
Services will be held on Saturday, June 25 at the Bellaire United Methodist Church at 11:00 AM at 4417 Bellaire Blvd, 77401 with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) organization; www.ihelpveterans.org