Eva B Kisvarsanyi

Éva Bognár Kisvarsányi was born and raised in Budapest, Hungary. As a young girl, she lived through the horrors of World War II in a city that was under siege by Soviet artillery, and occupied by Russian tanks and soldiers. After the war, and graduation from high school, she started her university studies in geology at the Loránd Eötvös University. As a student, she participated in the peaceful march on October 23, 1956 that evolved into the Hungarian Revolution. A glimpse of her face can be seen behind her university’s banner in newsreel footage that was taken at the time. She, along with her newly wed husband Geza, had to escape from her native land after the Soviet invasion and defeat of the revolution. They arrived in the United States in January of 1957.

The couple moved to Missouri, where she completed her studies at the University of Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy (now known as the Missouri University of Science and Technology), the oldest mining school west of the Mississippi, in the town of Rolla where she graduated in 1958 (Bachelor of Science in Geology) and in 1960 (Master of Science in Geology). In her 1958 graduating class Éva was one of only two women among more than 600 men. Éva worked for the Missouri State Geological Survey for 34 years, progressing from research geologist through section chief to assistant director until her retirement in 1993. She published more than 100 professional papers, guidebooks and maps, and gave twenty-four formal presentations at national and international scientific meetings.

After retiring she moved to Sarasota Florida with her husband where she began her second career as a volunteer and Executive Director of the Hungarian American Cultural Association, Inc., the Kossuth Club, and editor of the club’s newsletter. For 25 years, she worked tirelessly to share Hungarian culture, particularly through its music, by organizing concerts, talks, and events in an effort to help the club support many charitable causes. She was also an active member of the AAUW (American Association of University Women) which had a local chapter there.

Failing health forced her to give up the role of heart and motor of the Kossuth Club and in 2018 she and her husband moved to Gainesville Florida to be near their daughter. Éva was a member of the Geological Society of America and of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. She also loved and supported the arts, particularly opera, the theatre, and ballet. On the 50th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution in 2006 she received the 1956 Hungarian Freedom Cross from the 1956 Revolutionary World Council. Her valiant fight against the ravages of Parkinson’s disease finally ended on March 30, 2025 at the age of 89. She will be immeasurably missed by her loving daughter.