Sept 1941- Dec 2018 Andrew Hazi of Tepusquet Canyon in Santa Maria, CA passed away December 4, 2018 at Marian Extended Care at the age of 77 after a three-year battle with cancer. Andy was born in Budapest, Hungary September 28, 1941 to Erno and Etel Hazy. It was 10 weeks before the attack on Pearl Harbor.
During his childhood, during World War II, Andy and his family hid from the Nazis. The family was persecuted during the war due to his father’s Jewish descent. After the war,… Read More » they continued to be endangered during the communist occupation because Erno’s family were capitalists.
Andy and his brother Steve endured the escape from behind the iron curtain and journey to Sweden with their parents and their first flight together to the United States on July 4, 1958. He was almost 17 when he landed in New York and never quite lost his Hungarian accent. Upon graduation from high school in New York, he was granted a full science scholarship to UCLA.
In 1961 he met Lyndon at UCLA. In 1962 his brother and parents followed and moved to Westwood. Andy and Lyndon married August 8, 1964.
Andy graduated UCLA with top honors in 1964 with a degree in physical chemistry and skipped getting his Masters and went on to get his PhD in chemical physics at University of Chicago in 1967. After getting his Doctorate, Andy and Lyndon moved back to California when he post-docked at USC. He was an assistant professor of Chemistry at UCLA 1967-1973.
He taught at UCLA and Cal Poly SLO, and later became a Senior Fellow at Lawrence Livermore National Lab. Ultimately Andy worked at Lawrence Livermore National Lab for 40 years, including many years after his “retirement”. He was instrumental in the development of the Titan laser among many other scientific accomplishments.
After retiring Andy, worked for the Lab as a subcontractor. He was admired and beloved by his colleagues. He was a passionate scientist.
Many scientific discussions were fought with a great deal of passion. His work colleagues (many of over 30 years) have described Andy as a fantastic scientist, enthusiastic, energetic, smart, personable, and creative. He loved his family, and especially enjoyed spending time with his three grandchildren.
He also loved the Tepusquet homestead and all the nature preserves of the central coast. Andy’s research and wealth of knowledge on the Tepusquet surveys and property lines was vast. He often spent hours poring over topographical maps and records.
Andy was an avid swimmer, hiker, bird watcher, gardener, beekeeper, dairy goat breeder, egg producer, 4-H leader and member of the Audubon Society and supporter of many organizations that support our military. Some of the family’s favorite memories of are trips to tidepools and beaches (Monterey, Refugio and Montano de Oro), making honey, drying grapes for raisins, picking fruit and nuts from his fruit trees, picking wildflowers, playing chess by kerosene lamp, 4-H Exhibit Day and the Santa Barbara County Fair. In later years the grandchildren loved trips to the Discovery Museum, San Francisco Zoo and trips to the ranch to go jumping in the creek.
Andy is survived by his wife of 54 years, Lyndon Hazi, of Santa Maria. He also survived by his daughters and son-in-laws Rosanne & A.J. Cisney, Melody & Dylan Andrews; brother and sister-in-law Steve and Chris Hazy; three grandchildren Jonah Davila, Claire Cisney and Brooklyn Cisney; and beloved nieces and nephews. Andy was preceded in death by his father Erno and his mother Etel.
Arrangements were graciously handled by Dudley Hoffman Mortuary. A private family graveside service (per Andy’s wishes) was held December 8, 2018. Condolences and memories can be emailed to the family via RosanneCisney@gmail.com.
Much gratitude to family, Ron, Brenda and Trevor Cisney and our friends that are family, for the immeasurable support over the last few weeks, months and years. The family would also like to thank Dignity Health, especially those at Marian Medical Center and Marian Extended Care for the exceptional compassion and care extended to our family at this difficult time. In lieu of flowers the family requests contributions in memory of Andew Udvar Hazi to the Project Lexi Brown Foundation, PO Box 3027, Orcutt, CA 93457 (helps families affected by childhood cancer), the Pacific Legal Foundation (champions property owner rights), or another charity of your choice.
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