Paul Gidaly grew up in Budapest, Hungary, and was a young man when Germany began occupying the country in the latter stages of World War II.
Gidaly, who is Jewish, lost his father in the Holocaust.
Though Nazi Germany was defeated, post-war Soviet Union rule of Hungary was not kind to many Hungarians.
“I couldn’t live there any longer,” Gidaly said.
Gidaly fled in 1949, spending a couple of years in Austria before settling in Winnipeg, Canada, where he was married for a period of time and had a daughter.
In 1967, he moved to England, returned to Canada in 1975 and then moved again to Israel in 1978.
There, he met Ava Honigman, who had Philadelphia roots. He traveled to Philadelphia to see her.
“I came to visit her and we decided to get married,” he said.
Gidaly moved to Philadelphia in 1981, marrying Ava a year later and living with her on President Street in Bustleton. She died in 2003.
“We had 21 beautiful years,” he said.
In 2005, he moved to Federation Housing’s Center Park III, 10102 Jamison Ave. Early last year, he decided to make a big lifestyle change — he wanted to move back to Canada, where his daughter and two grandchildren live.
The coronavirus and the closed border between the United States and Canada delayed his dream. But, thanks to a tremendous effort by the staff at Federation Housing, Gidaly’s dream came true last week, when the 96-year-old hopped a plane for a one-way trip to Calgary.
“I’ll be near my daughter, grandchildren and family,” he said.
Federation Housing’s Dwaine Lewis drove Gidaly in a shuttle van to Philadelphia International Airport. Property manager Michele Naftulin, service coordinator Meredith Cohen and social services manager Alyssa Moss, along with friend Yan Mirmelshteyn, accompanied him on the ride.
Eric Naftulin, CEO of Federation Housing, and caregiver Gela Kochiashvili were also on hand for the farewell.
“I will miss Paul,” Michele Naftulin said. “But I’m happy for him. Helping him this way will make the rest of his days filled.”
“It took us a year, but we got him there,” Cohen said.
Gidaly’s new home is Canyon Meadows, an independent living retirement community that offers support such as meals and housekeeping.
The folks at Federation Housing made all the arrangements.
“It’s a lovely retirement community,” Gidaly said before the big move.
Gidaly, who gets around easily with a scooter and has picked up many languages due to all his travels, enjoyed his time at Center Park III.
“I want to thank the staff, the maintenance and the catering,” he said.
Over the years, many of his friends and neighbors, along with a lady friend, passed away. The pandemic shutdown did not help.
“It’s very nice here. Before the pandemic, we had a social life. The pandemic paralyzed everything,” he said.
In years past, Gidaly worked in accounting. But after moving to the U.S., where everything has been computerized, he took a job as a school bus driver. His assignment was taking students to and from St. Albert the Great.
“I loved it,” he said.
Gidaly also loves history, reading, learning and writing letters on his typewriter. He’s lectured about the horrors of the Holocaust. He’s a big soccer fan — Chelsea is his favorite English professional club. And he’s a fan of Donald Trump, predicting he will win the 2024 presidential race, though he won’t be eligible to vote for him.
Michele Naftulin has arranged for Gidaly to receive the weekly Jewish Press. He had a letter to the editor published in the newspaper earlier this summer.
Gidaly described Philadelphia as a “marvelous city” with “endless greenery.”
At the same time, he said the Canadian people are friendly, and he’s looking to make new friends, get involved in Jewish life and become closer to his family.
“I hope in my closing years to have the pleasure and joy of family life,” he said. ••
