Obituary of Siv B. Kovats (Farkas)

CANISTEO: Siv B. Kovats (Farkas), 83, of Cty. Rte. 119 passed away Saturday morning, September 30, 2023 at Noyes Memorial Hospital in Dansville after a brief illness. Siv was born October 11, 1939 in Lulea, the northern part of Sweden, above the Artic Circle, to Oscar Einar Arnquist and Ella Forsberg. In High School, she began learning English and felt like she had found her new home. At 16, she began spending summers in England immersing herself in the English language and culture. In her youth, she was shy and studious; she loved school and reading. Throughout her life, she valued education and educational experiences both in and out of classroom as one of the most valuable things in life. At University, she was one of only 5 women in her graduating class in chemical engineering. Originally, she had applied to the School of Dentistry but was denied entry when they discovered she was a female. In the 1960's, she emigrated to Australia where she thrived and where eventually she met her husband Leslie Farkas who had emigrated to Australia from Hungary after World War II. In 1968, they arrived in NYC with business visas. In order to obtain green cards, Siv and her husband invested in the Dairy Queen franchise. For a period of time, they owned three Dairy Queens in New Jersey. However, Leslie's dream was to tan furs which was his trade and passion. He wanted to purchase a property where they could eventually build a tannery. In the summer of 1976, they finally found a property in Canisteo, NY that they both agreed fit their criteria (even if Siv thought the house was too big for only three people). Both Leslie and Siv fell in love with the house, the Canisteo Valley, and the town of Canisteo. They truly felt as if they had found paradise on earth in their little corner of Western New York. Siv lived some of her best years in Canisteo. She was grateful to raise her daughter Ann in the safety of a small town out in the countryside. Eventually, she was over-joyed to be grandmother to Alex who became the center of her life and her joy and gave her real purpose to continue living her best life. Siv was known for her love of gardening and many plants and trees still live on around the house. She was also very musical, a talented pianist and also sang in choir. She had a life-long passion for classical music and opera. She loved to cook and she was not ethno-centric in her cuisine but liked any cuisine that was tasty. Siv was a multi-faceted, multi-talented woman. She was also known to be very tenacious. According to the doctors, she was definitely supposed to die in 1999 from breast cancer. She defied those doctors and other doctors and continued to live until the age of 83. Siv is survived by a daughter Ann Farkas and grand-daughter Alexandra Farkas both of Canisteo, one brother Leif Arnquist of Sweden. She was predeceased by her husband Leslie Farkas in June of 2004 and her sister Anita Zetterquist. Friends may call from 2-4 pm on Sunday, October 15th, at the H.P. Smith & Son, Inc. Funeral Home in Canisteo. Memorial contributions in Siv’s name may be made to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, 13770 Noel Rd., Suite 801889, Dallas, TX. 75380 or online at komen.org. Arrangements are in care of the H.P. Smith & Son Funeral Home in Canisteo.