EDWARDSBURG — It was the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 that led Elizabeth Pinnyei to leave her homeland behind her, crossing an ocean and ending up in South Bend, Ind.

“We left Hungary in 1956, my brother and I and my family,” said Pinnyei, in her native accent. “We came to South Bend, well, because my husband’s parents lived in South Bend.
“That was a hard time for Hungarians,” she added. “And we came here.” Left behind was Pinnyei’s mother, Katalin Kakuk. “We did not see her for eight years,” Pinnyei said.

Kakuk would remain in Hungary until 1966, when she and her husband would follow in their daughter’s footsteps and make the trip to America. “She came and she is a very determined lady,” her daughter said. “She put something in her mind … We had no choice (but to leave). That was bad times.” One could say Kakuk had already lived quite a life. Yet in her 50s, she started out in a new country. “She started working,” Pinnyei said. “She had a job in a small nursing home. She worked in a nursing home as a housekeeper.”

After her father passed away, Pinnyei said her mother moved in with her. Her family eventually ended up in Edwardsburg. Today, the 4-foot-10, 82-pound woman who takes her garden very seriously and is beloved by her Edwardsburg neighbors, turns 100 years old. “She’s helped me raise my kids and my grandkids,” Pinnyei said.

Kakuk still doesn’t speak English, something her daughter said doesn’t pose much of a barrier, as the family speaks Hungarian in the house and “she understands them and they understand her,” Pinnyei said of the younger generations.

“She’s a five-generation grandmother,” her daughter added. Kakuk lost her eyesight a couple of years ago, Pinnyei said, but has not set aside the importance of upkeep to her garden.

With more than 100 family members coming in to celebrate her birthday, Pinnyei said Kakuk is making sure others are tending to her flowers and any intruding weeds so as to make sure the grounds are in tip-top shape.

Pinnyei said her mother is always being checked on by friends and neighbors, who worry if they don’t see her out and about at her home near Garver Lake Golf Course.

Describing Kakuk as strong and determined, her characteristics remain, Pinnyei said.
“Every one of my kids are workaholics,” she said. “I am one, my brother is one. We got the gene from her.”