Dr. Andrew Steven Garay

The family of Dr. Andrew Steven Garay sorrowfully announces his death on Monday, October 10, 2005, at the age of 79.

Andrew was born in Pecs, Hungary, the fourth of seven children born to Lajos and Irma Garay. He was educated in Budapest, Hungary, and was elected to the Hungarian Academy of Science. He was head of the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics of the Hungarian Academy of Science in Szeged, Hungary, until 1975, when he immigrated to the United States with his family and settled in College Station, Texas.

He served as a professor of biochemistry and biophysics at Texas A&M University until his retirement in 1994, when he was honored by the University with Professor Emeritus status. He participated in the U.S. Department of State Fulbright Program in Hungary from 1994 to 1995. He had great fondness for his many students over the years. Andrew taught at academic institutions around the world and published many articles in English, German, and Hungarian in scientific, religious and philosophical journals. His principal research interest was the origin of life.

Andrew was a founding member of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in College Station, a member of the local Word of Life community, and a member of the Secular Order of our Lady of Mount Carmel, under the name of Andrew of Jesus Crucified. He was the first president of the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra.

He is survived by his wife of 37 years, Margit Garay; children and children-in-law Barnabas and Zsoka Garay, Andras and Dora Garay, and Borbala and Janos Utasi of Hungary; Ursula and Craig Oaks of Silver Spring, Maryland; and Marton Garay of Austin, Texas; sister Maria Garay of Hungary and brother Martin Garay of France; and 13 grandchildren.

A rosary will be held tonight, October 13, 2005 at 6:30 p.m., and a Memorial Mass will be held at 11:00 a.m., tomorrow, October 14, 2005, both at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in College Station. Andrew’s remains will be placed in the Garay family crypt in Pecs, Hungary. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Christian Foundation for Children and Aging (www.cfcausa.org.).