Obituary of Thomas Ponyicsanyi

Thomas Ponyicsanyi, age 67, unexpectedly passed away Feb. 7th while wintering in Port Aransas, TX. He was born Feb. 10th in Fort Atkinson to Carl and Arline (Fandrei) Ponyicsanyi. He attended St. Paul�s Lutheran Elementary School and graduated from Fort Atkinson HS in 1961. Tom married Kathleen Hornby on Dec. 19, 1964. He was a UW-Whitewater graduate with degrees in Math & History. Tom worked for Uniroyal as an Industrial Engineer for 9 years in Eau Claire, where he also belonged to Jaycees and enjoyed the sports of northern WI. Their 2 daughters, Debra & Betsy, were born there. The family moved back to Whitewater in 1975, with Tom being hired by Trent Tube in East Troy. He worked for numerous companies in various engineering roles renovating plants and starting up new ones, such as Lear in Arlington, TX. He retired at age 54 to pursue his love of trap shooting, fishing, golf and hunting. He was very active in the Delavan Sportsman Club and enjoyed playing cards. He is survived by his wife, Kathy, daughters, Debra (Shawn) Geary and Betsy (Rob) Stangel and 4 grandchildren: Raechel Geary, Kimberly Geary, Cullen Stangel & Benjamin Stangel all of Wausau. Tom is also survived by his mother: Arline Simdon, brother: Jim Simdon, sister: Cathy Mansavage and nieces & nephew all of Fort Atkinson. Visitation will be on Friday, Feb 11th, 5:00-7:00 PM, at Nitardy Funeral Home in Whitewater. Visitation will also be held beginning at 10:00 AM prior to 11:00 AM services at First English Lutheran Church in Whitewater on Sat., Feb. 12th. Immediate family will attend graveside burial services at Evergreen Cemetery in Fort Atkinson. In lieu of flowers, donations can be directed toward the �Tom Ponyicsanyi Memorial Youth Shoot�, being established by the family and members of the Delavan Sportsman Club.