Rosemary Nagy
Social worker, “Jill” of many trades

After almost 30 years of working as a tenacious advocate for the needy, Rosemary Nagy of Upland retired, relocated from Ohio to Florida and took up fishing. However, she soon got bored. Fascinating person that she is, Ms. Nagy then undertook a succession of eclectic—and rather surprising—jobs. Intense career behind her, she began working at McDonald’s restaurant, enjoying the part-time work and the people and impressing her superiors: they wanted to make her the full-time night manager.  Declining because “part-time work is enough for a retired gal,” she left.  Next, she became a cashier for a truck stop that had 22 gas pumps: she loved joking with the truckers. Next, Ms. Nagy became a security guard for a large orange juice company, opting to walk around the grounds instead of driving a cart: she couldn’t believe they were paying her to get exercise, the family shared.

After these experiences, at age 76, Ms. Nagy moved to Las Vegas, Nevada delighting in the “city that never went to bed.” 

“That’s my kind of town,” Ms. Nagy once said, recalled the family.        

On March 25, 2008, Ms. Nagy died at the Claremont Care Center from complications due to lung cancer. She was 84.

Ms. Nagy was born to Hungarian immigrant parents Joseph and Louisa (Klaus) Nagy on January 16, 1924 in Cleveland, Ohio. In the early 30s, her family moved to the country where she and her sister were picked up for school by a horse and wagon.

Upon graduation with honors from John Adams High School in Cleveland in 1942, she resourcefully put herself through college, working nights running a streetcar and completing her homework at the end of her route.  She also worked as a Fuller Brush Saleswoman, a junior chemist and even vacuum cleaner saleswoman to pay for her education. 

For one semester, she attended law school, but was told by her counselor that she was destined to be a social worker: truer words were never spoken.

Ms. Nagy enrolled in Western Reserve University (now know as Case Western Reserve). At the Cleveland university, she was thrilled to enroll in every physical education class she could, from equestrianism to fencing: early in life, she had been diagnosed with a heart murmur; in college, it was no longer detected and she was finally free to be as active as she chose.

In 1947 Rosemary received her bachelor’s degree in sociology from Flora Stone Mather College, an affiliate of Western Reserve University and, in 1956, she completed her master’s of science and social administration from the School of Applied Social Service at WRU.

During her 3-decade career, Ms. Nagy functioned in various social service positions including social worker, associate director of United Services for All, casework supervisor and district supervisor in the Akron and Twinsburg, Ohio areas. An advocate for all people, she spent special energy on the elderly and worked closely with a community nutrition program. A former supervisor called Ms. Nagy a “prime example of being an advocate.”

During the Hungarian uprising in the mid 50s, many freedom fighters fled to the US settled in Cleveland.  Ms. Nagy volunteered to assist the refugees since she spoke fluent Hungarian. And, during the riots on Wooster Avenue in Akron in the late 60s and early 70s, she was in charge of a social services office in a tumultuous area where many feared going.  But not Ms. Nagy: she would confidently come and go because the people she was helping looked after her safety.

Throughout her career, Ms. Nagy received numerous awards including Social Worker of the Year (1976) from the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), which also granted her gold card member status in recognition of her sustained membership in the association and devoted public service. In 1982, she was elected as an active member of The New York Academy of Sciences and, in 1985, she received recognition from the American Association for Counseling and Development for participating in gerontological counseling.

“Rosemary has tremendous ability to relate deeply to troubled people,” said the former executive director of Family Services in Akron, Ohio. “She is tenacious in getting what is needed for people, the truly needy.  The more difficult the situation, the more determined she is to get what is needed.”

A Family Services newsletter article reported that when asked if she were happy that she had chosen social work as a career, Ms. Nagy emphatically replied, “You’d better believe it!”

Ms. Nagy retired in 1986, moving to Lake Panasoffkee, Florida, where she tackled the aforementioned succession of interesting jobs. She then moved to Las Vegas, and, at age 79, to Upland. While in Upland, she became active in Claremont happenings through her niece, Linda Kovach, a community advocate in Claremont. Ms. Nagy was a member of Active Claremont and frequently attended Claremont city council meetings. She also found great pleasure in walking the Thompson Creek Trail.

Ms. Nagy’s favorite activity late in life, said Ms. Kovach, was babysitting her great-great-niece and -nephew.

“I think that completed her life,” Ms. Kovach remarked.

Ms. Nagy is survived by her sister, Louise Dropik of Claremont; by her niece and her husband, Linda and Ted Kovach of Claremont; by her great-niece and her husband, Laura Kovach Cormack and Steve Cormack of Irvine; by her great-nephew, Ted J. Kovach, and Janice Johnson, of Ventura; by another great-nephew and his wife, Steve Kovach and Kathy Kalousek of La Verne; and by her great-great-niece Sara Hyacinth Kovach and great-great-nephew Maxwell Anthony Kovac, both of La Verne.

A celebration of Ms. Nagy’s life will take place at 4 p.m. tomorrow, Sunday, April 6, 2008 at the home of Ted and Linda Kovach, 916 Glenville Dr., Claremont.  A buffet will be served. 

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to the City of Hope, 1500 E. Duarte Road, Duarte, CA  91010; or Kim McCurdy’s Hunger Ministry, c/o St. Ambrose Church, 830 W. Bonita Ave., Claremont, CA 91711.