SALVENDY, Dr. John (Jancsi) Thomas - (1937 - 2020) - Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto.
Family meant the world to John. He was a devoted and affectionate husband to his wife Elfi for 57 years.
He was a loving and supportive father to Sylvia, Daniel and Oscar. John encouraged all of their endeavours and was very proud of their many achievements.
His grandchildren Helena, Marcus, Ian and Isabel brought tremendous joy to his life and seeing their progress and development delighted him. John has also been a caring older brother to Gavriel.
John was born on June 25, 1937 to Dr. Paul and Katalin Salvendy in Budapest. His family resided however in Rimavska Sobota (Rimaszombat in Hungarian) in what was Czechoslovakia back then. His family owned estates there and a large distillery. They survived the Holocaust by hiding on a farm. The family were first persecuted as Jews and later under communism.
In 1949 they successfully emigrated to Israel. The adjustment was not easy: they went from prosperity to poverty and John now had to add Hebrew, English and Arabic in fast succession to his existing studies in Hungarian, Slovak and Russian. John had a real talent for languages and soon excelled in his new studies in Israel, receiving a scholarship to a prestigious high school.
After losing a kidney at 17 to a wartime injury, John developed an interest in medicine. Following a family tradition, he studied at the University of Vienna, where he graduated in 1963. There he met the love of his life, Elfi Broser, with whom he spent 61 years. Viennese culture and Austro-Hungarian history captivated his attention and led to thrilling experiences and rich scholarly work.
In 1967, John, Elfi and their baby daughter Sylvia emigrated to Canada to pursue better career opportunities and to devote more time to his interest in group therapy. Daniel was born in 1972 and Oscar followed in 1979.
After redoing his internship and part of his residency, John joined the staff of St. Michael’s hospital for 23 years - the last 17 of these he served as the Director of the Psychiatric Out-Patient Department. There he established an exemplary teaching program and the largest group therapy set-up in Canada.
In 1993 John made a very successful transition to private practice, which permitted him to devote more time himself to helping people, through reducing his administrative responsibilities. In recent months, when closing his practice, John mentioned that many of his patients had expressed their heartfelt thanks to him for the profound impact he had on their lives.
John was a warm, empathetic, even-tempered person with an inquisitive mind, who never stopped learning and exploring. He was a lifelong loyal friend, who loved to discuss any topic on his numerous walks and hikes. John loved humour -mostly Hungarian style. He was happy, having lived life to the fullest and having achieved all that he wanted to. In his words, he was "comfortable in his own skin and at peace with his place in the world."
He was a cultured man, well-versed in the arts. He had many interests and talents, being a subject matter expert in many different and rare fields of study. In addition to English, John spoke, read and wrote in German, Hebrew, and Hungarian, and understood half a dozen other languages. He was an author and historian, with a particular focus on Central Europe. He wrote a book and published numerous articles on the psychological aspects of the area’s history. John was an avid reader with a wide scope of interests. He felt that each language opened a window to another culture and way of living.
John and Elfi shared a strong passion for hiking and travelling. Together, they hiked in 5 continents, touring over seventy countries, often off the beaten path, including Borneo, Yemen and Papua-New Guinea. These trips also allowed John to satisfy his avid interest in experiencing different languages and cultures. He never lost his desire to learn. Thus in his late seventies he brushed up on his Slovak and Arabic.
John was an expert collector in rare books, which he donated in 2008 to the Fisher Rare Books Library at the University of Toronto. He was an ardent theatre and concert-goer, having attended over 1400 performances in numerous countries. John’s musical interests ranged from jazz to classical to international. Along with these, John enthusiastically attended his children’s numerous piano competitions.
His interests in sports included track and field, soccer, cross country skiing (often with his kids when they were younger) and basketball. He enjoyed jogging for 25 years and was a very passionate supporter of his children’s soccer, biking and skiing endeavours. He also cherished every moment he spent with his grandkids, who call him Popa, whether going on forest adventures, playground trips, feeding the ducks or telling amazing bedtime stories.
John developed a deep passion for group psychotherapy early in his career. This treatment method fascinated him throughout his life and privileged John to help thousands of people throughout his career spanning over 55 years. John was a member of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto for over forty years and a professor for the past thirty. He was internationally prominent through his writings and the 250 lectures he delivered.
John was the founding president of the Canadian Group Psychotherapy Association - only a decade after getting "off the boat." He was impressed early on by how unique Canada has been in treating its immigrants. He was in a strong position to compare Canada with other countries, Canada being the fifth place he called home. He felt thankful and proud of having become a Canadian citizen.
A private service will be held on Saturday, June 20th. Flower donations may be sent to Paul O’Connor Funeral Home (Scarborough) in advance.
Jancsi, thank you for everything, you were a remarkable man. You will always be loved and admired, and will forever remain in our hearts.
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