Katalin Makó
Katalin Makó

Obituary of Katalin Makó

Obituary Joseph and Katalin Makó, 58-year residents of Monterey, passed recently, leaving behind three generations of loving descendants. Joe passed in October 2018 followed closely by Katalin in February 2019. Katalin (Kati) Makó was born in Miskolc, Hungary, to Lászlo Pongor and Blanka Vécsey, a national tennis champion. She was raised in a competitive tennis family and as a youth won the title of Hungary’s Junior Tennis Champion. She attended the prestigious Veres Palne School for Girls. Kati had two children – Lászlo and Katalin Márkus – in her first marriage, then met Joseph Makó when she joined a prominent civil engineering firm in Budapest as a draftsperson, and they were married in 1955. She and Joe had two daughters - Krisztina and Csilla. Kati had an impeccable fashion sense, which was reflected in the elegant way she dressed and decorated her home. She enjoyed classical music and going to the opera. She was an avid reader, tennis player, and spoke several languages, including English, Hungarian, German, and French. Kati enjoyed gourmet cooking and entertaining, and her home was often graced with music, good food, and friends enjoying her hospitality. Joseph (Joe) Makó was born in Székesfehérvár, Hungary, to Lörinc Makó and Margit Reisenberger. He grew up in the Buda Castle district, where his father was a government minister. Joe spent much of his youth as a boy scout, where he made lifelong friends. He enjoyed sports and the outdoors – ski jumping, swimming, rowing, and fencing. He graduated from the Budapest University of Technology and received a Master’s degree in Structural Engineering. One of his favorite kind of projects in Hungary was designing wine cellars because he often would get to sample the product. Kati and Joe were refugees from The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and emigrated to South Africa, and later to USA, where they made their home in Monterey. Joe was President of Howard Carter Structural Engineers, and worked on thousands of buildings on California’s Central Coast. He was also a Toastmaster and part-time instructor at MPC. Some of the more notable structures engineered by Joe are the Monterey Airport Control Tower and the seawall at the Pebble Beach Golf Course’s 18th hole. He had a long and satisfying career as a structural engineer. It was always fun to drive around with him and have him point to all the buildings around the Monterey Peninsula that he had helped design. Kati and Joe were active in the Hungarian community. They loved to travel and returned to Hungary several times after the country regained its independence. Kati was preceded in death by her son, Lászlo. Kati and Joe are survived by their daughters, Katalin, Krisztina, and Csilla, and seven grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. They were inseparable in life and in death. They were the perfect pair. We will miss them greatly, but are comforted to know they will always be together. We sincerely hope you can join us as we honor and celebrate Joe and Kati Makó at the Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club, Wharf II in Monterey, on Saturday, March 16 from 2:00 to 4:00. In lieu of flowers, a memorial gift to the SPCA would be appreciated. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Katalin Makó, please visit our floral store.
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A Memorial Tree was planted for Katalin
We are deeply sorry for your loss ~ the staff at Bermudez Family Cremations and Funeral
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