Anna Katona Obituary

KATONA, Anna Dr. Anna Borbala Katona, Distinguished Professor Emerita of the College of Charleston, died peacefully in her sleep on Tuesday morning, January 18, 2005. Born on July 7, 1920, in Debrecen, Hungary, to Joseph and Margit Kenyeres Katona, she earned a Ph.D. in English and a Masters degree in English, German, French and Italian and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Debrecan, a Masters degree in Russian from the University of Budapest, and a Post-doctoral degree in Literature from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. She built a remarkable career as both a teacher in high schools in Debrecen, as Professor for 12 years, and later as Director of American Studies and Chair of the Department of English at the University of Debrecan for seven years. In 1975, she became Professor of English at the College of Charleston where she was named Distinguished Professor and taught courses in American Literature until her retirement in 1992. She continued to teach part-time until 1999, reaching her goal to teach until the end of the century. The recipient of the College of Charleston Distinguished Research Award, Dr. Katona was a prolific scholar with a mastery of many languages and subjects. Her numerous articles and books include a monograph study of George Eliot (1969), A Casebook of the United States (1969), A History of English Literature (1972), and Mihaly Vitez Csokonai (1980) of the Hungarian Enlightenment. She served as editor of the Hungarian Studies in English for nine years. She presented papers and served as convener at numerous international conferences including the Modern Language Association of America. Her research awards include a British Council Scholarship at the University of California, Berkeley in 1968, and an ACLS Fellowship at Yale University in 1975. She was a member of the Board of Trustees for the Dickens Society, of the advisory board of The Canadian-American Review in Hungarian Studies, and was the Hungarian editor for The Annual Bibliography of English Language for over 30 years. Dr. Katona made a grant to the College of Charleston which recognizes annually the graduating English major with the highest average in American Literature courses. A member of First (Scotts) Presbyterian Church, she is survived by generations of devoted students and a host of loyal friends and colleagues in Hungary, the United States and throughout the world. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to College of Charleston Foundation. Funeral services will be Friday, January 21, 2005, at 3 p.m., at Addlestone Library, corner of Calhoun and Coming streets. MCALISTER-SMITH FUNERAL HOME, DOWNTOWN CHAPEL, is in charge of funeral arrangements. Condolences may be made online at www.mcalister-smith.com. Visit our guestbook at www.charleston.net/deaths.