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Ilona T. Szucs M.D.

Posted 7/20/08

Ilona Tar Szucs, M.D. MILFORD - Ilona T. Szucs, M.D., of Milford, died peacefully at home on Friday, July 18, 2008, following a long, courageous battle with cancer. During her life, she overcame the …

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Ilona T. Szucs M.D.

Posted


Ilona Tar Szucs, M.D. MILFORD - Ilona T. Szucs, M.D., of Milford, died peacefully at home on Friday, July 18, 2008, following a long, courageous battle with cancer. During her life, she overcame the obstacles of language and finance to become a medical doctor. Thereafter, she made pioneering efforts in a profession that was dominated with male colleagues. Born in Hungary, she was the daughter of Elizabeth and Antol Tar. At the close of World War II, Dr. Szucs was a college-aged girl living with her parents and sister. When it became apparent that the Soviet Union would be taking control of Hungary, Dr. Szucs, her fiance, her mother and her sister left Hungary on foot with whatever belongings they could carry in a tablecloth. The family journeyed to Munich, Germany, by hitch-hiking and walking. Dr. Szucs married her fiance. Her mother returned to be with her father in Hungary. In Munich, Dr. Szucs and her husband were required to rely upon their high school German. They became proficient quickly in speaking, reading, and writing German. She and her husband entered medical school in Munich. They supported themselves by working at menial tasks and selling crafts, such as stuffed toy animals, which were made from rags and discarded clothing. In 1952, with the help of a philanthropic organization, Dr. Szucs, her husband and their daughter were brought to New York City. Once again, Dr. Szucs had arrived in a new country with only the belongings she could pack into a trunk and was unable to speak the English language at all. She was determined, however, to fulfill her dream of becoming a medical doctor. She learned English. In the late 1950s, the family moved to Wilmington. There, Dr. Szucs and her husband became medical interns and resident physicians. In 1963, having mastered two languages, as well as medical terminology in German and English, the native Hungarian moved to Milford to begin her distinguished medical career. While in Milford, she also realized her dream of becoming a U.S. citizen. Dr. Szucs became a pathologist at the Milford Memorial Hospital. Dr. Szucs was the first female pathologist to serve on the staff of the Milford Memorial Hospital. During that time, she also performed pathological services at Kent General Hospital in Dover, the Dover Air Force Base Hospital and the Beebe Hospital in Lewes. Within a few years, Dr. Szucs devoted her time almost exclusively to the Milford Memorial Hospital. During her early years as a pathologist, Delaware did not have a full-time State Medical Examiner. Therefore, Dr. Szucs served as an Assistant Medical Examiner on a part-time basis. She was qualified and recognized as an expert witness by the Superior Court of the State of Delaware to present testimony in many criminal cases. For more than 25 years, she served the Milford Memorial Hospital as its pathologist and the director of its medical laboratory. Dr. Szucs was instrumental in supervising the design of the present state of the art laboratory at the Milford Memorial Hospital. Under her guidance and leadership, the laboratory at the Milford Memorial Hospital became the first laboratory in the State of Delaware to be inspected and accredited by the College of American Pathologists. Dr. Szucs influenced national policy through her positions in the American College of Pathology. From 1964 to 1992, Dr. Szucs was selected every year to be the keyman representative for all Delaware pathologists in the College of American Pathology. The American College of Pathologists selected Dr. Szucs to be a laboratory inspector, which called upon her to serve on teams that inspected and certified hospital laboratories for compliance with its national standards. Dr. Szucs has been recognized by her colleagues in many ways. Dr. Szucs was elected to serve as the President of the State of Delaware Society of Pathology for four years. Dr. Szucs served on the public law committee of the Medical Society of Delaware. In that capacity, she appeared in the Delaware General Assembly to discuss the implications of legislation which would affect the medical profession. For more than 25 years, Dr. Szucs was a member of the executive committee of the Milford Memorial Hospital Medical Staff. Dr. Szucs served as the Director of the American Cancer Society, as a Director of the State Cancer Society, and as President of the Cancer Society in Sussex County. Dr. Szucs also served on the Board of Directors of the Blood Bank. Following her retirement at the end of 1992, Dr. Szucs continued to coordinate the school health program of the Delaware Medical Society and arranged for physicians to make presentations at various schools in the State. She is survived by her son, David A. Szucs and her grandson, Walker Szucs, of Belleville, Ill.; her daughter, Dr. Ilona E. Holland and son-in-law, Justice Randy J. Holland, of Milford; her grandson, Ethan B. Holland, his wife, Jennifer, and her great-granddaughter Aurora Ilona Holland of Knoxville, Tenn.; her nephew, Ladislao Botond and his daughter Estephi, of Buenos Aires, Argentina; and her goddaughter, Dr. Adele Ashley-Axon. Services and interment were private. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial gifts be sent to Safe Haven Animal Sanctuary of Sussex County, P.O. Box 430, Nassau, DE 19969. Letters of condolence may be emailed at www.delmarvaobits.com/rogers. Arrangements handled by Rogers Funeral Home, Milford.

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