Saturday, April 23, 2016
Farewell to Joe Szabo
by Signe Wilkinson
Joe Szabo, the founder of
“WittyWorld” and friend of cartoonists across the globe, died suddenly while
working at his desk at home in North Wales, PA, on February 2, two days shy of
his 66th birthday.
Joseph George Szabo was born
in Budapest, Hungary, graduated from journalism school and married the former
Flora Toth before they both emigrated to the United States in 1980 seeking
freedom. They settled in North Wales where they raised 5 children in a
one-bedroom apartment where the décor was mostly second-hand furniture and lots
of books including an entire edition of the Encyclopedia Brittanica.
As his son Sylvo wrote in
remembrance , “Joe was a risk-taker” with a “life-long love affair with
politics, swimming, ping-pong, chess, dark chocolate, and collecting artifacts
from the various countries he’d visited.” Cartoonists will remember him for his
ambitious magazine “WittyWorld”, which chronicled cartooning from around the
world, and for his many cartoon gatherings. In 1990, he convened a memorable
cartoonists’ convention in Hungary just as the iron curtain was falling. Cartoonists
from the then USSR, Israel, Ireland, the United States and elsewhere met next
to the Danube in Budapest and shared stories about their work and lives.
At the time of his death, he
was working on “Images of America”, a book using cartoons to show how people
from around the world see the United States. In addition to collecting
cartoons, he had been interviewing people for the past 15 years in preparation
for his text.
Joe sacrificed personal
comforts for his passions, scraping by on odd jobs that fueled his travels and
his publications. He was rich with friends, family and fellow cartoonists who
mourn his passing.
Memorial
contributions can be made to the International Spring Festival, Lansdale Public
Library, 301 Vine Street, Landsdale, PA. Remembrances of Joe for his family can
be sent to his former wife, Flora Szabo, hunamer@hotmail.com .
Istambul 1996 - Meeting WittyWorld — com Javad, John Lent, Mik Jagger, Osvaldo Macedo de Sousa, Joe Szabo, Sema, Effat e Polo..
