Erzsebet “Betty” (Vigh) Koppany, 91, wife of the late Karl Koppany, passed away peacefully on Saturday, January 17, 2026 with great care at Sanatoga Center to join her husband of 70 years.
Born in Sarretudvari, Hungary, she was the daughter of the late Gyula and Roza (Serfözö) Vigh.
Betty left her beloved country on foot at night with 4 friends during a major January snowstorm in search of freedom during the Hungarian Revolution in 1956. Five days later they arrived at a small home in Austria and were welcomed with food, warmth and freedom, they had made it! They moved to the American Red Cross Refugee Center and worked in Vienna. There she met and married the love of her life after only 6 weeks. The newlyweds traveled to Philadelphia with the help and sponsorship of our great uncle Anthony Koppany and his wife Maria.
Betty was a high achiever and extremely work motivated. Betty spent her 70-year career in retail customer service for many stores. Retiring from KMart Corp in 1999 and again later part time at Genuardi’s in Royersford closing the store at the age of 77. She loved her customers and co-workers; she had received many excellence awards throughout her career. She was an avid walker and enjoyed walking for strength and exercise or with neighbors to catch up on the latest news. Betty enjoyed cooking and baking Hungarian style and she was the best! Betty had a natural green thumb with her plentiful gardens, flowers and plants always abloom. She enjoyed word searches, hitting the casino, visiting her favorite hair stylist Casey and watching General Hospital, Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune religiously. Mostly, Betty loved her family and was the best Mom, Grandmom, sister, aunt, friend, neighbor and co-worker anyone could ask for.
Surviving is her daughter Susanna Koppany; son Karl T. Koppany; sister Ircsi Füredi, wife of Attila; grandchildren Amanda Hanuschek, Alexandria Lindeborn, wife of John, and Karen Spivey, wife of Hank; great grandchildren Bristol, Reese, Sofie, and Sydney; nieces Gabriella, Ivett, Irenke, Berta great nieces Rebeka, Kincsö, and many other family members in Hungary., She will be dearly missed by Benny, the beloved family dog. She is predeceased by her siblings; Sandor, Elvira, Rozsi and Gyula, nieces Kati and Emöke; and sister-in-law Iren Szekrenyesi
A memorial mass will be held on Tuesday, January 27th at 11:00AM at St. Teresa of Calcutta Church (256 Swamp Pike, Schwenksville, PA 19473) with Fr. Jeff Rott officiating.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The American Red Cross https://www.redcross.org in Betty’s name.