George D. Nagy's Obituary
Decatur-George D. Nagy, 89, of Decatur, passed away at 12:35 p.m. Friday, October 14, 2011 in Decatur Memorial Hospital with his wife by his side.
Memorial services to celebrate George's life will be 6 p.m. Friday, October 21, 2011 at Graceland/Fairlawn Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to the Millikin Symphony Guild.
George was born August 20, 1922 Marosvásárhely, Transylvania (Hungary) the son of Alex D. and Gabriella (Agh) Nagy. He gave his first concert in Budapest at the age of 6. At that time he was a student of Jeno Hubay. After the death of his father he moved to Rumania and studied 3 years with Maximilian Costin. He continued his study of the violin at the Royal Academy of Music in Budapest with Professors Vegh and Zathureczky and for many years was first violinist with the Franz Liszt Symphony Orchestra. When he was 14, he was the soloist at the Liszt Music Festival where he won his Georino violin, made in 1757, from the Remenyi Corporation. After the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, he came to the U.S. where he taught violin and viola in Decatur and Springfield. In Springfield he taught Private Applied Strings for the Lincoln Land Community College for 19 years. He was a member of the American String Teachers Association, Decatur Area Arts Council, honorary member of the Zoltan Kodaly Academy and Institute, for 26 years the personnel manager of the Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra, and Associate Concertmaster for 5 years. He married Mary (Soules) Romack October 31, 1963.
He leaves behind Mary, his beloved wife of forty-eight years, son George Jr. of Phoenix, AZ, step-son Gerry Romack and wife Barbara of South Elgin, IL, grandchildren Jesse Nagy, Chris Nagy, Kerry Romack and wife Adrienne, Sean Romack and wife Cassandra, and Suzanne Both and husband Michael, six great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, brothers John and Alexander, sister Gabriella Essoe, and step-son Ronnie Romack.
The family of George D. Nagy is being served by the Graceland/Fairlawn Funeral Home, 2091 N. Oakland Ave. Decatur, IL. Please view the online obituary, send condolences, and share memories at www.gracelandfairlawn.com.
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