Tombstone Tuesday: Steve & Theresa (Stosz) Hack

Whiting Memorial Park

Ocean County, New Jersey

('Thank you' to Rich, a find-a-grave volunteer, who photographed this marker for me.)

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Military Service Dates for Steven Hack Identified

U.S., Department of Veterans Affairs 

Name:	Steven Hack
Gender:	Male
Birth Date:	20 Aug 1907
Death Date:	8 Jan 2000
Branch 1:	NAVY
Enlistment Date 1:	20 Nov 1943
Release Date 1:	24 Nov 1945

I knew that G-Uncle Steve Hack served as a SeaBee in the Navy, but a recent search on Ancestry.com gave me the date range I was looking for to help define his record.

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Sentimental Sunday: Uncle Steve Hack

'I am a lumberjack & I am OK

I sleep all night & I work all day...'

(Monty Python)

 
Steve (Istvan) Hack was born on 21 August 1907 in Porva, Hungary.

He was a shoemaker in Budepest then worked as a lumberjack in Canada before immigrating to the U.S.

Married Theresa Stosz on 02 Feb 1938 in Montreal, Canada
d: 07 Jan 2000 in New Jersey

Seabee Buzz

Steven Hack - U.S. Navy Seabee WWII

Born Istvan Hack on 21 August 1907 in Porva, Hungary.
Was a shoemaker in Budepest then worked as a lumberjack in Canada before immigrating to the U.S.
Married Theresa Stosz in Feb. 1938.
Steven Hack died on 7 January 2007 and is buried in Whiting Memorial Park in Whiting, Manchester Township, NJ.

Seabees - Naval Construction Battalions
Construimus, Batuimus - "We Build, We Fight."

The first Seabees voluntarily enlisted. Emphasis in recruiting was based on experience and skill. The age range for enlistment was 18-50, but after the formation of the initial battalions, it was discovered that several men past 60 had managed to enlist. Because of the emphasis on experience and skill rather than physical standards, the average age of Seabees during the early days of the war was 37. Voluntary enlistments were halted in December 1942; as a result the average age of Seabees was much younger and they entered the service with only basic skills.

During the Second World War, the Seabees performed numerous tasks in both the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters of Operation including building major airstrips, bridges, roads, gasoline storage tanks, and Quonset huts for warehouses, hospitals, and housing.

Wordless Wednesday - Visiting Family

I was asked to give a bit of background on this photo... so here it is: The woman in the photo is Theresa Stosz Hack ( http://tangledtrees.blogspot.com/2009/03/theresa-stosz-of-segenthau-romania.html) With her is her husband, Steve Hack, and his two nephews whom they always referred to as "the twins". I do not know their names. They were always 'the twins'. The picture was taken at a German airport on one of their visits.

In the past people dressed up when travelling by plane or train. Women wore dresses & heels; nothing like the pajamas I saw on one woman that last time I traveled by air. Eeke! I'm all for comfort but that's just wrong!

Theresa Stosz of Segenthau, Romania

This is a photo of my Great-Aunt Theresa Stosz with her godchild (not identified). This photo was taken in her native town of Segenthau, located in what is now Romania. Her native language was German. Theresa was born 17 Feb. 1914 , daughter of Maria Rauner and Anton Stosz. She immigrated to the United States in 1930 and in 1938, married Istvan "Steve" Hack. Theresa Stosz Hack passed away Oct 2000 in Whiting, New Jersey.

She is the person who showed me the importance of remembering our past. I had visited her one summer when I was still in high school & she handed me some paper and a pencil and told me to write everything down that she shared with me about her family. Stories about her sister and parents, their lives in Segenthau, and immigrating to the U.S. When she was finished telling me her story she had me read it back to her. I had left out some of the negative things she had said and she wasn't happy about that. "No, no, you must remember everything - the good and the bad." There was no glossing over allowed. When she was done I had my first diagram of a family tree. If only all of our grandparents would be that insistent. I think of her often. She was my inspiration, and I loved her dearly.

This post was created for the 17th edition of Carnival of Central and Eastern European Genealogy: Women in Central and Eastern European Genealogy