Eugene Charles Kardos.
Born Jeno Karoly Kohn.
Born 1884, Budapest, Hungary
Died 1948, Bronx, New York, USA.

It was 25 January 1948, and the cremation was the next day. To me that seemed fast, but I don’t know all conventions.

According to the cemetery website, the burial date was much later, on 30 April 1948. That’s puzzling too, but maybe just to me.

The funeral director’s invoice was sent the very next day, which I found a bit harsh. But, this document was touching in its simplicity, and for being shakily hand-typed. It was addressed to Anna.

“Funeral as Selected, including casket, hearse, one limosine, and all professional services

$355.00

New York City sales tax, @ 7%
$7.10

Disbursements:
Cremation:
$45.00
Five Transcripts, Death Certificate:
$4.50
Pallbearers:
$10.00
One extra limousine:
$18.00

Funeral notices:
Journal American – one day, $7.70
The Home News – one day, $ 3.00
Acknowledgement cards and tax:
$5.10

Total:
$455.40

This was in 1948. I suspect this sum flattened her. He only made about $3000 per year, before retiring. That’s what she told the last census inspector, at any rate.

That same day, she attended to another urgent matter. It looks like Anna feared for Eugene’s future in the afterlife, because he never converted to her religion. We surmised this, anyway. No one ever saw him attend any sort of church, temple or otherwise.

But, he was born Jewish and she was an on-going Roman Catholic. Some of the funeral papers surprised me. A moment later, I wasn’t surprised at all.

Here’s what they said. The day after he died, for his own eternal good, she enrolled him in a Franciscan Mission, and their Purgatorial Society, run by a network of monks who pray for certain souls in astronomically high numbers, the frequency determined by which membership level she chose, I believe.

I am guessing this mission’s belief was that his soul would need a lot more support than hers would.

This mission still exists in Manhattan, and their website shows admirable amounts of charitable work in their area. This is besides their once upgrading the status of Grandad’s soul from non-Christian to acceptable. I reckon that’s sorted by now.

I wrote to them to ask (without sarcasm, I promise) what this meant, or if my guesses were close. I think they are too busy feeding the poor and helping the homeless, bless them, to answer such family mysteries. That’s probably a good thing. But, I had to ask. I had to try.

With Eugene, I wasn’t surprised he held his ground and would not join her group or any group. I think he’d had a good glimpse at the downside of organised religion, and was going to stay right where he was, in neither camp. A modern secular man, is what he seems to have been.

He worked hard, raised his boys, read the paper on the weekend and saw the grandkids. That was what and how he worshipped.

Amen. Now who has the sports pages, and is there any more tea?