József Lenz was a Hungarian Fruit Distributor, tradesman of exotic fruits, commercial adviser, reserve hussar captain, decorated with the Order of Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, Chairman of the National Association of Fruit, Vegetable and Food Traders of Hungary, Chairman of the Fruit Exporters and Importers Association of Hungary, member of the Hungarian Trade Statistics and Valuation Committee, and Vice-President of the "Association of Merchants of Fruits of Hungary", member of the organizing committee of the "Hungarian Fruit Export Association", urban palace owner, landowner in Nyékládháza, Bükkaranyos and Kesznyéten, art collector.
Biography
He was born in a wealthy Roman Catholic family in Budapest, in the former Kingdom of Hungary. His ancestors can be traced back to the ancient Lenz family, which was ancient member of the Swiss Bourgeoisie of Lenzburg. A branch of that family moved to Hungary and lived for several centuries in Pressburg. József Lenz was born on March 18, 1897 in Budapest. His father was Gyula Lenz, a wealthy Hungarian tradesman of exotic fruits, and his mother was Anna Mária Etelka Gömöry, fruits tradeswoman. József lenz had two uncles, János Lenz, tradesman, Knight of the Order of Franz Joseph, and Ferenc Lenz, tradesman commercial adviser of the Kingdom. On the 8th January of 1920 József Lenz married Klara Topits in Budapest; she was the daughter of the member of the high Bourgeoisie of Budapest, Alajos József Topits, owner and director of the pasta factory "Son of Joseph Topits", located in Budapest; Alajos Topits was also Knight of the Order of Franz Joseph. József Lenz was famous in Hungary between the two World Wars, not only for his wealth, but also for his persistent struggle and activities to protect Hungarian products during the Great Depression. Thanks to him, Hungarian products became known in Central Europe, and as a result of his activities, the economic crisis became more bearable in Hungary. In this lands the welfare situation of maids was exemplary. For example, in Nyékládháza, they built 25 modern flats in high-rise, reinforced concrete houses that they eventually got after long years of service at the company. He built the Roman Catholic neo-Gothic church in the village in 1943 and personally dedicated it to Archbishop Gyula Czapik himself, who, after the ceremony, handed over the "Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Order of Honor" to Joseph Jozef. On the other hand, he gave scholarships to several students of the Budapest Piarist High School. József Lenz' daughter was Klára Lenz a Hungarian Gobelin tapestry artist, landowner who emigrated to Venezuela during World War II. She was the wife of the Hungarian noblemanEndre Farkas de Boldogfa, Major of the General Staff of the Hungarian Armies during World War II, who hailed from the family Farkas de Boldogfa; he was the son of dr. István Farkas de Boldogfa, jurist, supreme chief magistrate of district of Sümeg in the county of Zala, and the noble lady Erzsébet Persay de Persa. After the Second World War József Lenz moved with his family to Switzerland where he lived for four years. During his stay there, his youngest son Franz was born in Zurich. Later József Lenz he moved with his family first to Venezuela, then he moved to Colombia. He died March 14, 1965 in Bogotá, Colombia.
