Life Story: Judith Bajusz Hazarian, 85; Former Soviet Political Prisoner

Judith Bajusz Hazarian of Somerset passed away on March 2, 2020 . She was 85 years old.

She was born in Budapest, Hungary. She lost her father in World War II when she was a child. After the war, she survived the Soviet Union’s domination of Hungary having been incarcerated as a political prisoner in Hungary for a year before her family was finally able to secure her release.

She was active in the 1956 Hungarian Revolution but fled the country following the crushing of the revolution by the Soviet army. Her journey to freedom was perilous as she traveled from Budapest to Austria traveling by train for the first half of the trip and by foot for the second half.

Following her arrival in Austria, she applied for political asylum in the United States and arrived at Camp Kilmer in Piscataway on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1956. She was able to settle in with her sponsor family the same day and celebrate her first holiday in her new adopted country.
She was proud of and loved her birthplace and her Hungarian heritage, but she also loved this country and the gift of freedom it provided to her and her family.

She was a long-time resident of Somerset and is predeceased by her first husband, Sandor Bajusz and her second husband, Jack Hazarian. She is survived by her children, Marcella Bajusz, Alexander Bajusz and his wife Marianna, Helen Mencke and her husband John Mencke; Susan Powell and her husband Kenneth Powell and her grandchildren, Andras and Alexandra Bajusz and Emma and Jack Mencke.

She was a classically trained and gifted pianist whose love of music was surpassed only by her love of God, family and freedom. She was a strong and devoted mother who, after losing her first husband, had to raise her children virtually on her own. She was all things to her children … mother, father, counselor, confidant, mentor, coach and friend. She loved spending time with her grandchildren and watching them grow into wonderful young adults.

She was a remarkable woman who lived an extraordinary life in interesting times.

Please in lieu of flowers consider a contribution in Mrs. Bajusz Hazarian’s name to either St.Matthias Church 168 John F. Kennedy Boulevard Somerset, NJ 08873 or to Compassus Hospice 46 Eisenhower Drive
Paramus, NJ 07652.

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