In Memory
Otto J. Pozgay
Aug 1, 1915 - Sep 22, 1966
Otto J. Pozgay, 51, former six-term Democrat state representative in the Indiana General Assembly, died unexpectedly of heart attack 11 p.m. Thursday. Pozgay was stricken while dancing at Playland Park at the annual St. Joseph County Democratic Club chicken barbecue.
Firemen gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation but Pozgay was dead on arrival at St. Joseph's Hospital in a Fire Department ambulance.
A political turncoat, Pozgay, of 24621 Lancer Dr., bolted the Democratic Party in 1964 and unsuccessfully sought election as Republican. Last spring he filed again as a Democrat, but failed to win the nomination.
In recent years he has been a sand and gravel salesman operating out of Lake County.
Pozgay had both a law degree and a master's degree in education from the University of Notre Dame. He had practiced law, taught school, and once was a deputy under former Prosecutor Patrick Brennan. Active in labor circles, he once held a post in Studebaker Local 5, UAW-CIO. He served his last term in the state General Assembly in 1963.
Pozgay was born in South Bend, Aug. 1, 1915, graduated from Central High School in 1934, received his law degree Notre Dame in 1949 and master's degree in 1951.
He was married July 29, 1944, in South Bend to Dorothy E. Cassells. The couple was divorced in 1960.
Surviving are four children, twins Lee and Larry, and Cathy and Patricia, all living with Mrs. Pozgay.
Pozgay, an Army Air Force veteran of World War II, was a member of Chapter 6, Disabled American Veterans, the Hungarian Democratic Club, and the Masonic Lodge.
Article from 23 Sep 1966 The South Bend Tribune (South Bend, IN)
Note: Original spelling of surname was POZSGAI. Before he entered the U.S. Army in WW II, he changed the spelling to POZGAY.
Sources: Ancestry.com, Newspapers.com and FindAGrave.com
05/19/2026 EJS
|