Peter Theodore (Tibidor) Revesz, beloved son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, telephone engineer and tree farmer, passed away on Jan. 29th, 2024, at the age of 94.
Pete was born in Budapest, Hungary, on April 24th, 1929. His mother, Erzsebet, was a children’s book illustrator and his father, Robert, who passed away when he was 6, a mining engineer. Pete’s early years were spent in the loving company of a large extended family that celebrated in studying languages (he spoke at least five fluently and could get by in several more), science and music. His childhood was disrupted by the war, German occupation and finally Soviet invasion during World War II. Many from his extended family did not survive the war.
In 1947, cousins living in Colorado sponsored 18-year-old Peter to come to the University of Denver (D.U.) to study electrical engineering (EE). Of the many languages he knew when he arrived, English was not (yet) one of them, but as anyone who ever heard one of his groan-inducing puns can attest, he soon mastered it. Pete worked throughout his college years as a television repairman, at Samsonite luggage and, briefly, as an opera-singing waiter.
While at D.U., Pete met his dear friend and fellow engineering student Gusten Lutter, who had come to the U.S. from Estonia. This friendship grew over the years to warmly embrace their wives, Jane and Lorry, and succeeding generations, carrying on today.
After graduation, Pete joined the U.S. Army during the Korean conflict. He taught troops to operate and troubleshoot their radios prior to their deployment to the Korean peninsula, rewriting the radio manual along the way. After discharge, Pete hired on with Mountain States Telephone Company in 1954. Sergeant Revesz was deeply proud of and grateful for his time in the service, which allowed him to earn his U.S. citizenship.
In Denver, Pete met Jane Witter, soon Jane Revesz, his wife of 67 years, who had moved to Denver after graduating from the University of Portland to work as a nurse. Jane and Pete shared a lifelong, deep and abiding love of music, science and the American West, all of which they first explored together in Colorado.
fiAt first, Pete traveled the West bringing microwave towers online for “Ma Bell,” a new technology that made long distance calling a reality for everyday folks. In 1958, one of those trips got cut short so that he could hightail it home for his daughter Sandra’s birth. Pete also earned a master’s degree in EE from D.U. during this time. Son Mike followed in 1960 while the family was in New Jersey for two years as Pete worked for Bell Laboratories.
During the 1960s and 70s, Jane and Pete raised their two kids back in Denver, enjoying the outdoors with friends and family on weekends and vacations. Jane taught nursing part time while Pete continued at Mountain Bell. In 1972, Pete returned to Hungary with the family for the first time since he was 18, visiting his mother, his sister, Dorka, and her family. In 1976, the Revesz homestead moved to Chester, New Jersey, after Pete’s transfer to AT&T World Headquarters to work in planning for the future of telecommunications, a job he loved. In these years, Jane completed her coursework in NYU’s PhD program while Pete earned his master’s degree in business management at Pace University in a selective program, taking classes held at the office once a week after the regular workday.
They returned once more to Denver in 1980, but parental care and a growing interest in tree farming often led Jane and Pete back to Battle Ground, and Pete retired from the Bell system in the mid-80s. After a few years, they settled in a house near Lewisville Park, hosting friends and family, doing forestry and serving various roles in the Clark County Farm Forestry Association. They moved to assisted living in November 2022.
Jane preceded Pete in death in December 2023. Their legacy is being carried on through their children, Pete’s brother-in-law Laszlo Somfai and descendants, Jane’s sister Lee, grandchildren Jason and Amie Stevens and Charlotte Revesz, loving cousins, nieces, nephews, godfamily, tree farm community and dear friends.
A memorial will be held for Jane and Pete Revesz from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 30th, at the Battle Ground Community Center.
