Windsor, VT - John Kreisz, 90, of Windsor, VT, died on Monday, August 9, 2021, at Stoughton House in Windsor. He was born on January 8, 1931, in Budapest, Hungary to Istvan and Bali (Thereris) Kreisz. As a young man, he married Katalin Kemenar and worked in Hungary as a truck driver. During the Hungarian Revolution, he secretly reported Soviet activities that he observed on his trucking routes to the Freedom Fighters and as tensions increased, he hid his pregnant wife and two children in one of the trucks and absconded into Austria. Once in Austria, they had to travel quite a distance on foot to get to safety and emigrated to the United States. They settled in Massachusetts knowing no English and very little about American culture, but he learned quickly and was self-taught, becoming an excellent English speaker and welder. John and Katalin raised their five children together until her death in 1975. He later married Shirley Giroux in 1986 and they were married for 29 years until her death separated them.

Although John and Katalin had to flee their home in Hungary, they loved the culture and food of their homeland. He was the family Hungarian patriarch and passed on his knowledge to his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents; two wives; and two sons, Charlie and Stephen.

He is survived by three daughters, Katalin Kreisz of Dushore, PA, Helen Jaquez of Nashua, NH, and Maria K. Rogers and husband Bruce of Windsor, VT; nine grandchildren; seventeen great grandchildren; six great-great grandchildren; other relatives and friends.

A private committal was held at the convenience of the family in the Wilson Cemetery in Barre, VT. A celebration of life will be held on Sunday, August 29, 2021, at 1PM at the Trinity Evangelical Free Church on Main Street in Windsor, VT.