Obituary of Elizabeth Lanyi

Elizabeth Lanyi “Elsa” Henrietta: On June 3, 2010 at age 77. Survived by her husband, Gene; 3 children, Ed (Valerie) Lanyi, Elva (Scot) Parker & Eleanor (Martin) Delgallego; grandchildren, Armando (Jenna), Brian, Cory, Mitchell, Kristen, Jacob; great-grandchildren, Camryn, Brendan & DJ; brother, Stephan Toth & sister, Ana (Fred) Lewandowski; several nieces and nephews. Family and friends are invited to call Thursday, 4-8 PM at Miller Funeral Homes (3325 Winton Road South). (Map to the funeral home) Elsa’s Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Friday, 10 AM at Guardian Angels Church (2061 E. Henrietta Road). (Map to church) Interment, Holy Sepulchre Cemetery,Henrietta. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: St. John’s Home Foundation McQuaid Jesuit 150 Highland Ave. 1800 S. Clinton Ave. Rochester, New York 14620 Rochester, New York 14618 Elizabeth (Toth) Lanyi was born on November 30, 1932 to Edward and Katharina Toth. Her birthplace was on the Dutch side of the beautiful island of St. Marteen. Her father liked the name "Elsa" and so she is known to most by that name. Her siblings are Stephan and Ana. Elsa grew up with her family not only on St. Marteen but also on the islands of Aruba and Curacao. Dutch was the primary language spoken in the schools that Elsa attended. Elsa continued to speak Dutch on occasion to her siblings especially when they didn't want us non-Dutch speaking family members to understand something! Thanks to Elsa and her siblings, all of us can sing HAPPY BIRTHDAY in Dutch with very poor pronunciation! A birthday doesn't go by without the traditional HAPPY BIRTHDAY only to be followed by the Dutch version of happy birthday that always concluded with Elsa's "HEEP, HEEP" and our HOORAY! Elsa's sister, Ana, tells stories of how Elsa always liked to argue with her parents- a trait that has passed down to the current grandchildren!! Elsa and Gene met on the island of Aruba. They were married on November 20th, 1956. They immigrated to the United States in February of 1958. They arrived in Rochester, NY (where Gene's brother, Rudy, lived) to a huge snowstorm! The only white they had ever seen was sand on the beaches! Elsa was expecting Elva and always said the snow was up to her belly!!! Gene and Elsa became US citizens in the late 60's. That was a very proud day for them!Elsa and Gene eventually settled in Henrietta where they raised Eleanor, Elva and Ed. Elsa worked throughout the years as a legal secretary at various law firms. She eventually retired from the law firm Chamberlain and D'Amanda where she still has many friends. Elsa's first and foremost love was for God and her faith. In the past few years, she always tried to attend morning Mass at Guardian Angels and met several wonderful lady friends whom she enjoyed going out to have breakfast and/or lunch with. Elsa loved going to the Cracker Barrel and especially loved the gift shop there! Shopping was a huge passion for Elsa. She loved to go to the Mall and "look around". At home, she shopped at QVC. She generally bought gifts for others for she loved to give to family and friends. She always put so much thought into gift giving. There undoubtedly will be an economic downturn at the Malls and QVC with Elsa's passing Sports was another one of Elsa's passions. She was an avid NY Yankee fan! She always cheered for the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Flyers, and the Notre Dame Irish. As her grandsons became involved in sports she became a HUGE fan of the McQuaid Jesuit Knights football and basketball teams, the Rye Rangers, Bulldog Express and Westchester Express hockey teams. She endured rainy, windy and cold football fields, very hot basketball courts and very cold ice hockey rinks. She cheered very loudly for her grandsons and, of course, they could do no wrong!!! She may have been known to use an expletive once or twice if her grandsons' teams did not win or were "unfairly" penalized!! Of course, she always loved attending her granddaughter's voice recitals and concerts Elsa loved pumpkin pie, macadamia nuts, "boiled peanuts" and a really good strawberry daiquiri! She disliked stewed tomatoes, cheesecake ("too boring") and dry wine. She loved the spring when she could plant flowers and tomatoes-she had a true "green thumb"! She excelled at crosswords puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, and lately enjoyed the hand held computer game Tetris. She loved Christmas! Elsa was a true patriot! She loved her country and all things red, white and blue! She was a true, blue patriot lady! She always sported a T shirt with a flag, saying or colors that showed her devotion to this country. She loved patriotic and Christmas pins that were loud and sparkly calling it her "bling"!!! Aside from her faith, her other most endearing passion was her family. They were always first. She always said how proud and happy she was that she was able to see her children marry such wonderful people. As grandchildren came along, she became lovingly known as "OMA" (grandma in Dutch) not only to her family but to the friends of her family. During these past few months, there were so many inquiries and prayers for "OMA To know Elsa was to love her. She was a smart, gentle, kind and thoughtful lady that always smiled. She had friends of all ages! While we will miss her terribly,her spirit will always be with us as we remember all the things she loved. Don't be surprised if the NY Yankees win another championship this year as she will surely have her hand in controlling the pitches and the bats! And, go an enjoy a strawberry daiquiri and think of our dear Elsa/Mom/Oma! We love you, Elsa/Mom/Oma. Thank you for all that you have done! May you rest in peace and we will see you again! Your loving family... Home Henrietta, New York Birthplace St. Marteen, NA