Ed and Aranka “Goldie” Fodor met at work in post-World World II Hungary. She was a secretary and he was a bookkeeper at a children’s clothing manufacturer in Budapest.

Ed was born in Szeged in August 1934 and Goldie was born in Baja in the same year.

Before they met, Goldie grew up in Budapest with her family. When WWII broke out, her father led the family to a rural farm outside of the city. The farm offered them shelter and even a hiding space in a secret compartment behind the fireplace when unwelcome Russian soldiers held raids.

One Christmas Eve, when young Ed was just opening up his gift – a train set from his parents – his building was bombed and his family had to flee to the basement for months to be safe. After the war, they grew up in schools that forced them to learn Russian, marksmanship and other foreign skills.

When she graduated, Goldie started working at the clothing factory with her father. Here she met Ed, they began dating — going out for coffee and spending nights dancing. Ed even played in a local band.

Following the 1956 Revolution, Ed and Goldie knew they could not stay safe in Hungary. After many discussions with their friends and families, they planned their escape to Yugoslavia. Once they crossed the dangerous border, they were captured by a guard and arrested. After pleading their case, the guard took them to a refugee camp. Eventually, when the camp became overcrowded, they were taken to Bosnia. Ed and Goldie lived as refugees for a year. Hearing others were fleeing to other countries, they decided to go to the U.S., where Goldie’s uncle lived in California. Finally, they got their chance and boarded a bullet-riddled war relic that took them all the way to the United States — to freedom.

When they arrived in California, Ed and Goldie married. They started out their lives together cleaning homes and washing windows. They eventually found jobs in factories, and when Ed became a manager for a fast food restaurant, they bought a home and started a family. Ed and Goldie had two daughters and by the late 1970s, they relocated to Georgia for a job opportunity. The couple became restaurant owners in Atlanta, and Goldie started a successful electrology business that her daughter still runs today.

Ed Fodor passed away in Gwinnett County in December 2000 and Goldie Fodor died in Forsyth County in November 2021. Together, they are preceded in death by their daughter, Dianne Kammerer, and survived by their daughter and son-in-law, Judi and Dana Peters, and their granddaughter, Tahni Segars.