Old Missoula

Ernest G. Széchényi

• Apr 8, 2014

  

  MISSOULA – Dr. Ernest G. Széchényi, 65, died March 24, 2014, in Missoula’s St. Patrick Hospital after a short illness. Born in Salzburg, Austria, to Count Erno Széchényi and Countess Gabriella Szirmay Széchényi in 1948, Ernest immigrated to the Washington, D. C., area with his family as a child.

  He attended school at St. Ambrose in Cheverly, Md., before enrolling at Devon Preparatory School in Devon, Pa. When at home, he lived on the Potomac across from Mount Vernon at Mount Aventine Farm, which his father managed on behalf of the Széchényis’ longtime family friend, Baroness Margit Bessenyey, the granddaughter of Marcus Daly, Montana’s Copper King.

  As a young man, Dr. Széchényi was very athletic and particularly talented at skiing, tennis and equestrian sports, which were a family tradition. Graduating cum laude from Catholic University, he earned his M.D. at the University of Maryland’s Medical School in Baltimore, completed his internship at the Washington Hospital Center and did his radiology residency at Georgetown University Hospital.

  Széchényi first practiced medicine in Indian Head, Md., before moving to Tulsa, Okla., where he served as a resident in diagnostic radiology at Oral Roberts University School of Medicine. After receiving a fellowship in diagnostic radiology at the same location, he ran a radiological private practice in Mangum, Okla., from 1987 to 1992, then served as a physician at the Gallup Indian Medical Center in Gallup, N.M. After retiring from practicing medicine, Dr. Széchényi moved to Missoula to be near his older brother Otto. As a physician, Széchényi was known for his medical acuity, kindness, sensitivity and tact, as well as for his particular empathy for the disabled.

  The Széchényi boys had Montana roots since their childhood. Ernie and Otto came with their parents to Hamilton in 1954 to stay at the home of family friend, Margit Bessenyey, who gave them their first cowboy hats. In a tribute to Margit, delivered at the Daly Mansion in the summer of 2007, Dr. Széchényi fondly recalled swimming in the Daly Mansion pool as a little boy and remembered his delight in visiting her Bitterroot Stock Farm and playing with the Hungarian horses that Baroness Bessenyey had rescued from war-torn Europe. Later, Dr. Széchényi’s father, Erno, a noted equestrian himself, supervised the prize-winning horses at Margit’s farms both in Montana and Maryland – thus continuing the family’s lifelong association with Montana and with Baroness Bessenyey.

  “Ernie,” as Dr. Széchényi was known to his friends and family, had a great sense of humor and a good singing voice. Like his mother, Gabriella, a gifted artist, Ernie was talented at sketching and drawing. A man of deep faith, he was devoted to his family and country. He was proud to be Hungarian and also grateful to be an American citizen. On Memorial and Veterans days, he always called friends who had served in the military to thank them for their service to the country

  Ernie was extremely generous, unfailingly loyal and very intellectually curious. He loved animals – especially horses and dogs – enjoyed travel and was a great reader. He spoke three languages (Hungarian and French in addition to English), loved to laugh and had a tremendous gift for friendship. He loved to play games and often played bridge – in several languages. In recent years, one of his great joys was a trip he took to Hungary with his stepmother, Hanna Széchényi, with whom he visited the home of his famous relative, István Széchényi, often called the “George Washington of Hungary.”

  A member of Missoula’s St. Francis Xavier Church, Dr. Széchényi also belonged to the Knights of Columbus and was a Knight of Malta. Enormously generous with his time, talent and treasure, he volunteered weekly at the University of Montana’s radio station (KUFM), where he read news for the blind over the air. He also read books and newspapers to people at St. Patrick Hospital and regularly volunteered his help at local health care events. In 2013, as an outgrowth of his public spiritedness, Ernie ran for Missoula’s Ward 6 City Council seat.

  He was preceded in death by his mother, father, brother and stepmother, Magda Fonay Széchényi. Dr. Széchényi is survived by his stepmother, Hanna Thompson Széchényi; stepbrother, Anthony Thompson; and stepsisters, Janka Heath and Suzanne Kinder. Dr. Széchényi is also survived by family members in several states and abroad. In addition, he is mourned by his devoted friend Jill Jenkins, who was his great support through his final illness, as well as by his dear friends Carolyn and James Hathaway of Missoula and Doug Buskirk, formerly of Missoula. He is also mourned by his lifelong friends Maura and Carson Daly, who grew up with him.

  After a memorial Mass, which will be held at St. Francis Xavier Church at 10 a. m. Thursday, April 10, Dr. Széchényi will be buried at a family plot at Holy Trinity Church in Bowie, Md.

  The above obituary appeared in the Missoulian on April 8, 2014.