Ibolya Szarka, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, died peacefully at home with family at her bedside on November 16, 2018. She was 76 years old.

Ibolya was born in Budapest, Hungary on December 27, 1941. She and her family fled communism in 1973 during the Cold War, and fully embraced their future in the United States. The price for achieving that freedom was to leave behind an established life and extended family, yet she never looked back. It was a legacy she wanted to give her children and future descendants. A long time resident of Basking Ridge, NJ, she spent the final years of her life near her son, in Rochester, MN. Her Hungarian cooking was legendary, and has been passed down to her children and grandchildren.

She is survived by her loving husband of 55 years, Dr. Laszlo Szarka; her daughter, Monika Elling; son, Dr. Lawrence Szarka and his wife Monica. She leaves behind six grandchildren, Bettina, Nicholas and Stefanie Elling, and Veronica, Alexander and Anthony Szarka.

There will be a private family funeral Mass at St. Francis Catholic Church in Rochester, MN with the Rev. James Seitz officiating. Burial will be in Holy Cross Cemetery Mausoleum in Bernardsville, NJ.