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Ilona Hatridge
February 15, 1932 ~ September 9, 2022 (age 90) 90 Years Old
15 Flowers or Condolences have been shared with support of Ilona's family - View on Tribute Wall
Ilona Martin Hatridge, beloved mother and grandmother, “Ili” to family and friends, passed away peacefully on September 9, 2022. Ili was born in 1932, the eldest child of Georg Friedrich Karl Martin and Ilona Mária Zemko Martin, in Budapest, Hungary.
Ili’s early years gave her a beautiful life, spending time with family and friends in the country, taking trips into the city, and attending the symphony with her mother where her father, Georg, performed.
Her young life would soon be changed forever when the impact of World War II reached her home and family. By the grace of God, they survived the war, finding safe haven with a large community of Hungarian refugees in Bavaria as the Iron Curtain prevented return to their homeland.
A number of very difficult years passed. Then her life took another major turn as mutual friends introduced her to a young American serviceman, Irvin Hatridge Jr., who had been assigned to work within the Hungarian community. A budding romance quickly bloomed, and not long thereafter, Ili married Irvin, the love of her life. They soon traveled to America, settling in Corpus Christi, Irvin’s home town, to raise their family. They lived happily there for the rest of their lives.
Ili and Irvin were blessed with five children, eleven grandchildren, and three great grandchildren (with a fourth on the way). Nothing in the world was more important to Ili than her family. Her love and devotion to her family was evident every single day. She had an invincible, joyful spirit that brightened every room and brought a source of delight and happiness to every situation. After enduring many hardships as a refugee of war, she truly appreciated and celebrated every day of her life. She loved gardening and being in the kitchen, but her greatest joy in the world was serving others. Her amazing spirit will be missed by all.
Ili is preceded in death by her parents and her husband Irvin, and is survived by her children John (Denise), David, Susie, Stephen (Andrea), and Paul (Kimberly), her grandchildren, Michael (Cate), Trevor, Nathan (Lauren), Reese (Christian), Daniel, Natalie (Jeffery), Alexandra (Isaac), Julia (Matthew), Taylor, Tanner, and Grace, three great grandchildren, Henry, Samuel, and Thomas, and her sisters Erzsi and Evi (Egon).
A funeral service will be held on Saturday, September 17th, at 1:30 p.m. at Seaside Funeral Home in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Click here to view a webcast of the service on 9/17/2022 at 01:25 PM, Central Standard Time.