Obituary of Johanna 'Hanna’ de Koning
Hanna passed happily and on her own terms on October 21st.
She was predeceased by her brother Thomas Scitovszky, her sister-in-law Suzanne Beaubien and leaves behind her surrogate family Zsóka Balla (Martin Klaponski), Alexandre, Nicolas and Michèle Klaponski.
Hanna was born into Hungarian nobility in an era of etiquette, elegance and sophistication. Then with the German occupation and the Russian occupation at the end of WWll all family possessions were seized and taken away, but they could not take away the qualities of a bygone era that had become part of her inherent nature.
Hanna arrived in Montreal with only a suitcase after escaping the 1956 revolution in Hungary. Always a fashionista, she got her first job selling clothes in Montreal. In addition to selling clothes she asked her boss if she could design the window displays. Architect Raymond Affleck admired the eye catching displays and discovered by chance through Hanna's brother, that she was the creative force behind them. Shortly after that he hired Hanna as a designer for ARCOP.
She attended and graduated with honours from the New York School of Design. When the firm was awarded the contract for the Place Bonaventure Hotel, he appointed her as leader of the Interior Design team for the original design of the 401-room hotel. Her career eventually led her to the Art Shoppe in Toronto, where she was the head of the Interior Design Department until her retirement at the age of 69. She was passionate about her work and loved and was loved by the members of her design team, many of whom benefited tremendously under her generous mentorship.
She was fiercely independent, intelligent, curious, witty, and genuine.
She will be deeply missed by her loved ones. Condolences may be forwarded through www.humphreymiles.com.
May her 'visual spirit ' live on
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