On December 19, 2021, Tibor Heredy, "the Man, the Myth, the Legend," as his students referred to him at The Kew-Forest School, passed away in Florida, at the age of 89. He taught History at Kew-Forest from 1966-1998. Self-deprecatingly, he'd refer to himself as just a "poor Hungarian refugee," he was far from it. He grew up in Hungary under Nazi occupation during WWII. In 1956 amidst the uprising against the tyranny of Communism he escaped from Hungary. As a stateless person, he spent the next seven years traveling around the world, hitchhiking through places such as Pakistan, Nepal Afghanistan, Turkey, and Syria before settling in the United States. He continued his love of travel through 2019. His loss will be greatly felt by the many whose lives he touched and influenced. He looked upon his students with great love and fondness. Per his wishes he was cremated. Tibor, "mindig a szivemben leszel."
-Published by The New York Times on Feb 6, 2022
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About |
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| Name | Tibor Heredy - History Teacher, Kew-Forest School |
| Date of Birth | August 7th, 1932 |
| Date of Death | December 19th, 2021 |
| Favourite Saying | Said about him: "The Man, the Myth, the Legend" |
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published a tribute .
I was his student in the late 70s. He demanded intellectual rigor from his young students when others watered everything down in well intentioned but ultimately detrimental compromise. He literally taught me how to think. It took years for me to truly appreciate what kind of fire he lit in young minds. He was fearless, taking on subjects that would now be considered taboo. But whatever position he took to provoke and challenge us, the love of people and a genuine curiosity about their diverse interests and customs was his shining example. He was one of those rare teachers whose influence on past students grows with time. I don't know what I expected when, just an hour ago -- now, in 2023 -- I searched for his name but I still feel a pinch of sadness as I learn of his passing. Such a great man.
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published a tribute .
At Searing School in Somers, NY, also a history teacher, 1964-65 at least. And also proud of his own and his country's ping-pong skills, Hungarians then being among the world's best. I do not wish to be misunderstood, but to a boy he was a real man, in the best sense, perhaps the only one some of us will ever meet. Lucky indeed those who met him, those who taught by him, and those who learned from him.
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published a tribute .
I was a student of Mr. Heredy in the '80's. He was a formidable man who taught me so much (I never wanted to disappoint him). I will never forget the capital of Upper Volta, now BurkinaFaso - Ouagadougou! I hope he is still teaching wherever he is now.
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published a tribute .
A disciplined academic. Taught a factually-based creative thinking paradigm for his young audiences. Still utilize to this day his "political, economic, and social" divisions mindset when analyzing any issue. He prepared his students for the real world. He will be missed.
published a comment .
The Heredy Plan: Mandated The Reading of the New York Times Sunday Week in Review Section. The process allowed the student to be able to put world events into a contemporary perspective. The Monday quiz would always be the ultimate nerve wracking challenge.
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published a tribute .
I have very fond memories of Mr Heredy , including his terrifying “firing squad “ in which students had to stand in front of the class and answer questions .". A wonderful teacher who will be missed by many .
published a comment .
I am so grateful I went to school when I did , when teachers actually taught facts and kept their opinions to themselves where they belong . The students of this generation couldn’t handle the passion of a Tibor Heredy . They would need their precious cry closets .
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published a tribute .
For computer science, Mr. Landwherle was the standard in arithmetic logic a programmer would be guided by. However, in the legal field, Mr. Heredy's history classes were the gold standard for a lawyer's professional development: stand-up speaking, factual immersion, logical reasoning, and reacting under pressure. No other teacher matched his all-encompassing methodology.
He had the intensity and comedy of a drill sergeant. His instruction could be mislabeled as child abuse in today's victimocracy, but back then, it had a funny streak: firing squad, PPTs (people, places and terms), reciting African nation capitals, and all the note taking quirks he demanded (writing on the other third of a page in a notebook).
I was thrilled to visit the school in the aughts and sit in on a class taught by Mr. Heredy. I never saw him again and was saddened to hear of his passing. A multi-national treasure left us never to be replaced. We were blessed to be before him.
published a comment .
It’s tough to find a “term describing him.”Mr. Heredy taught us critical thinking and his demanding standards and his firing squad definitely well prepared me for the combat of practicing law.
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published a tribute .
Mr. Heredy was one of a kind.
The most accurate thing he said was that the difference between a dictatorship and democracy was that a dictatorship was the rule by one and a democracy was a rule by the few. Your public school system is supposed to fail- keep the population ignorant
published a comment .
Mr. Heredy called me a bad communist. He new what he was talking about.
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published a tribute .
Mr. Heredy is on the short list of the most impactful teachers I ever had. He influenced and left indelible memories for all of us. A few of those memories:
1. Memorizing PPT's (people, places, things) at the end of every chapter because you had to know facts in order to grasp concepts. These facts included the capital of every country (learned one continent per day - Africa was a long night of studying).
2. Being required to know the news and what was going on in the world because it was your responsibility as an educated person (especially as one lucky enough to be taught by him - he had a big ego) who he expected to be in a worthwhile position to know your world.
3. Passing on the sadness and extreme limitations of life under Communism and his escape from Hungary.
4. Firing squad - what the students called the exercise at the end of the semester where you had to stand in front of the class and answer questions from him. In addition to factual knowledge, he pretty bluntly worked on your public speaking techniques.
5. His annual art fair and contest where everyone in his class had to do a historically-based art project and all the students would visit the projects and vote.
6. No student ever beat him in ping pong. Despite being short and stocky, he was an intense and skilled ping pong player.
7. The pictures of Einstein, Stalin (seemingly cracking a joke) and the other eminent pictures who stared at you from above the blackboard in his Room 15.
8. Some classic and memorable insults that were funny then, but but probably wouldn't pass today. These included telling you to enjoy your attendance at Bougaville (a word that really brought out his Hungarian accent) College (a school that the unserious and not studious would end up attending) or, if you weren't even Bougaville material, that he would visit you at your hot dog cart in Central Park.
9. Ethnic Day - where students presented and showed pride in their heritage.
10. Occasional glimpses into his personal life, like his love of experimental theater and his opium experimentation in Asia (a peaceful feeling; like having no body and no head).
11. The school break trips that he put together for parents, students, and other faculty, but that I never went on.
Thank you for everything Mr. Heredy. In your honor, I still read the NY Times Sunday Review (formerly Week in Review) like you will test me on it on Monday.
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published a comment .
I remember with great fondness Mr. Heredy's classes. He truly was a master teacher. His approach to history was brilliant. The weeks we spent learning the geography of Europe made the wars we studied easier to grasp. To this day I recall random capital cities and always think of Mr. Heredy when I answer geography questions correctly on Jeopardy. I loved how he integrated art into the study of history, although I dreaded the art projects he assigned to us. I know that his legacy will be forever preserved among the hundreds of students he taught, inspired and influenced. May his memory be a blessing.
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published a tribute .
In reading these memorial tributes I am taken back to a place and a time when Mr. Heredy’s teaching was central in shaping the identity of Kew-Forest . As those who studied and worked with him will remember, his standards were sky- high, his demeanor powerful , and his vision of education expansive. Tibor fervently believed in the KF motto - Ad summum all the way! By prodding, coercing and cajoling he led his students to experience the richness of a world that included international travel, a full throated Marseillaise , a terrifying firing squad , and dishes and dances drawn from the ethnic culture of the School.
Tibor Heredy, master teacher extraordinaire, may he Rest In Peace .
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published a tribute .
Mr Heredy kept us on our toes so far as history and current world events. He accepted nothing less than our best effort.
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Leonard and Michael summed it up best--and reminded me of projects and lessons I had forgotten, but still appreciate. I can only add that Mr. Heredy is absolutely the reason I learned to question not just historical events but the causes and effects--and to learn how history repeats itself. He taught us all that history is not about memorizing important dates but understanding their roots. Because of him I was once fluent about capitals and for a time aced those questions in Trivial Pursuit. In his honor I will be more purposeful in renewing my knowledge--though for what it's worth, I still remember that Ouagadougou is the capital of Burkina Faso. His firing squad terrified me, but helped me to become a public speaker. I also appreciated then--and now--his frequent, humbling reminders of our privilege, and while even as a young teen I could understand his frustration with us given what he had endured, by me college years I was also able to empathize with him. He had an extraordinary influence on my education and I am deeply grateful.
I feel very grateful that Mr. heredy was my teacher. He definitely taught me how to be prepared for a midterm and final. I enjoy traveling to Russia with him and classmates in 1988
I like that I still know Capital Cities of the world, thanks to him!
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published a tribute .
From History and Cultural Fairs to presentations with foreign dignitaries, Mr. Heredy opened our eyes and minds to the world. He taught us about ourselves and our privilege's while enlightening to our roles and responsibilities in society. I am who I am and have seen the things I’ve seen in large part do to Tibor Sándor Heredy. May his legacy live on in all of us as we and our families fan across the globe.
Allison Padavan ‘91
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published a tribute .
No one who was taught by Mr. Heredy ever wound up in “Bougaville”. If you were his student, you know what I mean. RIP.
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published a tribute .
I think of how Mr. Heredy challenged us during our formative years. He could be tough, which many of us, including myself, could use. He did not baby us, so that we could access our full potential as young adults. Whether you were ranked first or last in the class, he made you pull yourself up by the boot straps, and become the best form of yourself, that you could become. That normally comes from a hard nose parent, but for those kids who had both parents working, it was a blessing to have Mr. Heredy act as a parent by proxy. Those pop quizzes that he was notorious for, was a way to engage the class. It’s funny how we appreciate his methodology now, more then when we endured the experience. As I mentioned, when I found out of his passing, we are better people to have had that experience.
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published a tribute .
Just this past Friday, only hours before receiving the email from the School informing me of Mr. Heredy's death, I tried to impart on my thirteen-year-old son wisdom Mr. Heredy imparted on me almost forty years earlier: "chew your water". You still speak, Mr. Heredy, and your spirit lives and will always live on. And you will always be remembered, even by those who for whom you are truly the stuff of myth and legend.
published a comment .
"Meps pliz"! barked by Mr Heredy as he tapped his pointer on his palm is a vivid high school memory. Tracing the maps of each country was both a rudimentary and brilliant way to learn where they all were. I've caught myself mumbling it to the GPS when frustrated with it's creative sense of geography. Class of '72, we predate the firing squad but were probably among the earliest participants in an Art Fair as we all had to create a replica of a royal crown, wear it and describe it's significance to the class. One quarter Mr Heredy wrote a comment on my report card saying, "She is still in the barking stage". So much more impactful than the weak "She isn't working up to her potential". He was very serious, a tad formal - we had to stand as a whole when an adult entered the classroom. He showed care and dedication to students and learning every single day. We returned the feeling as best as a group of very cool teenagers could, never more so than when the entire grade rented a bus and showed up at the Court House in Lower Manhatten to watch Tibor Heredy be sworn in as a citizen of the United States. Mr Heredy was honored by the K-F Alumni Association in 1995. It wasn't a reunion year for me by the numbers, but I was there. After all the kudos and then his own remarks, the entire table rose and we belted out a quickly arranged, lusty version of Les Marseillais. Another memory made.
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published a tribute .
A milestone has passed.
Tibor used to get in touch with me two three-times a year to get the latest on KF gossip. He was close to the school and its community but he was overly cautious...perhaps due to his time in Communist Hungary and his rebellious nature. He didn't ever want to commit totally to anything, even religion. His being a Lutheran put him at odds with the majority in Hungary of Roman Catholics. His specialty was to be a gadfly...always a pain in the ass until you got angry then he would turn on the charm and you would cave. It is certain that his antics upset and reset many in the KF community.
Know this that it was easier for me to teach during his tenure because of his demands which I would like to think I augmented and supported. He was the bad cop, I, the good. When I retired I got a call to come over to East 70th Street for lunch at which occasion he unloaded hundreds of fine points of managing the next stage in my life from ordering meds from Canada to getting sympathy from bureaucrats. He said to play the dumb old man on the phone or in person and beg for aid from the interlocutor no matter how clueless. This little detail did not fall on deaf ears. He was clever beyond necessity.
His last notes to me were full of his physical woes. So it was time to move on. I hope he died with little pain…morphine the old man’s friend.
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published a tribute .
Permit me to pay a tribute to Tibor from a different perspective: as a Kew Forest faculty colleague. I arrived at Kew Forest (1967) one year after Tibor (1966), so we were learning the school culture together. I found him to be a warm, smart, helpful man who put great effort into his teaching. We had a friendly competition going, always debating the merits of English (I taught grades 11 and 12) versus History. It was very clear to me that he had a natural gift for exciting students about his subject and enjoyed a great rapport with them. I left Kew Forest after six years with nothing but the fondest memories of Tibor as a person and the highest regard for him as a teacher and molder of young minds. Like so many of his students, he left an indelible impression on me, too.
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published a tribute .
Tibor S. Heredy, may his memory be a blessing. He was the most impactful teacher I ever had. I was a history major in college, and I continue to study history on my own. I think he reached out and made a positive impact to every student in my class and challenged each of my peers in developing our young minds for the future. He taught history as a continuum, blending the past with present events. He forced us to think broadly. His so called “firing squad” encouraged us to learn the material and apply it thoughtfully. He helped us distinguish between “Mickey Mouse” news and transformative current events. Today’s events in Europe, which dovetailed with Mr. Heredy’s last days, unknowing to me, especially reminded me of Mr. Heredy in what he had taught me. As a result, I had wanted most of all to thank him for his mentoring and bring him into my life again. His ideas about Russia and China resonate today and remain accurate. Yet, regrettably I failed to reach him. However, I was grateful that while I was in college in 1987 I did reach out to Mr. Heredy. I had let him be the first to know about the provocative questions I was trying to find answers to in my World War II France seminar. He quickly replied with a thoughtful note, challenging me! I was lucky to have gone to KF and to have Mr. Heredy as a teacher and mentor. All of us should be grateful to him for his teaching and remember him with the greatest respect.
Leonard H. Hecht 1981; Siegel History Cup 1981; Debate Club
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