Obituary
Dr. Bela Kovacs of Applied Process
 
by John R. (Chip) Keough
 
I am saddened to report the passing, on January 4th, of Dr. Bela Kovacs. Bela died suddenly while (apparently) in recovery from a long illness. He is survived by his wife Mary Jane (Jana), son Vic and daughter Jana Sue.
 
Bela was born in Hungary. His family survived being overrun by the Nazis in World War 11 and then occupation by the Russians after the war. His college education was interrupted by the Hungarian Revolution against the Soviets in 1956. History records that the revolution was crushed quickly by scores of Russian tank divisions. However, Bela was among several hundred young men who took to the hills and conducted guerrilla warfare against the Russians for almost two years.
 
Bela then escaped to Canada and then the US. He held a series of menial jobs while learning English and completing his education. Showing great technical capability he got a job at Ford and earned his Engineering degree from Wayne State. He spent many of his 30 years at Ford in the Scientific Research Laboratories working on advancements in ferrous metal technologies.
 
Bela then joined Applied Process in 1986 and was instrumental in many developments related to the commercialization of the Austempered Ductile Iron (ADI) process. After the collapse of the Soviet Union Bela wrote, and defended his doctorate at his old college in Hungary. (He went from being on their "Most Wanted" list to a celebrity of sorts). Of late, Bela had been consultant to Applied Process on several issues and was working on a corrosion study for us at the time of his death.
 
Bela's list of technical merits is long and impressive. Among them he was an ASM Fellow, an AFS Award Winner and Alumnus, a recipient of Ford's Edison Award for Technical Innovation, and author of numerous published works, holder of scores of patents and chairman and member of countless committees and technical organizations. He will be missed by his friends and family, the manufacturing and technical community and by his friends here at Applied Process. As I grew to know Bela he was first my technical mentor, then my peer in industry and, finally, my friend. An enthusiastic voice has been silenced with his loss.
 
Funeral services were held January 7, 1999 in Orchard Lake, MI.
 
Bela WAS NOT one to sit around and wring his hands, wondering what to do. Flowers are nice, but Bela was a man of action. He had great respect for an organization that DID something. The Campus Crusade for Christ is an organization that he loved and supported. This organization is trying to raise moral standards in young people in his home country of Hungary after nearly 50 years of Communist rule. In his memory, contributions can be made to:
 
Campus Crusade for Christ
100 Sunport Lane
Dept. 2400
Orlando, FL 32809
Attn.: Dave & Karen Robinson, 0111374 write "in memory of Bela V. Kovacs" on the check
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