Steve Bankuti, 78, of Marlborough, died May 19 at his home

Steve Bankuti, an award-winning Hungarian soccer coach who operated and owned his own towing service in Sudbury before coming to America via a church group from Rackeresztur, died at home in Marlborough on May 19 at age 78. A skilled mechanic himself, Bankuti also defused land mines back home.

Early Life and Education

Steve Bankuti, 78, who helped to bring girls’ soccer to Sudbury and operated Steve’s Auto Body there, passed away peacefully at home in Marlborough May 19th. A native of Rackeresztur in Hungary and well-recognized towing operator here known for refusing to charge fees when winching cars out of ditches was known for refusing fees for such jobs as winching them back out again; as well as being an accomplished soccer coach. Survived by Virginia Lamy; sons Gordon (Emily), Jacqueline Adie; grands Nicholas Adie; Kristyn Sach (Chad), Mackenzie Adie Britney Adie and Jacquelynnn Adie as well as great-grandchildren Grace Peel and Ryiot Adie. A memorial service will take place later.

Other songs on the album – Candy Air and Good Morning Gale Warning, with Breyer singing precise yet warm vocals over Rickenbacker guitar and bass sounds, respectively – utilize Church-like acoustic sounds with ease.

Professional Career

Steve Bankuti served in the Hungarian military during World War II and defused land mines in his village afterwards. Following World War II he immigrated to America through sponsorship by First Parish Church in Wayland’s men’s group and founded his repair and towing company Steve’s Auto Body in 1957. “He was an extremely hard worker,” according to Virginia Lamy, his daughter.

Sudbury-area residents were familiar with his unpaid winching services for teenagers trapped in ditches, and with coaching soccer at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School where he introduced girls’ teams and encouraged female players to be just as good as boys, according to her account.

His and Marlene’s family resided in Marlborough. He is survived by Heather and Jacqueline Adie as well as Gregg Galan; grandchildren including Nicholas Adie (Kristy), Kirstyn Sach, Mackenzie Adie, Jacquelynn Adie, Britney Adie and Chase Novakovski as well as many friends.

Achievement and Honors

Bankuti was an accomplished soccer player from Hungary who helped introduce girls’ soccer to Sudbury through playing on women’s team and later coaching at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School. According to Sawyer, her father was always hard working without charging fees for tasks such as winching cars out of ditches.

In 2022, he became one of only seven UT faculty members honored with Web of Science Highly Cited Researcher designation in mathematics. His contribution has been crucial in engaging the math department with interdisciplinary scientific computing research for problems that are important and impactful in science and engineering. Following the awards ceremony, attendees gathered in the RBC Atrium for conversation and refreshments following which this event proved immensely successful – I look forward to continuing this tradition into the future!

Personal Life

Steve Bankuti, 78, who played an instrumental role in bringing girls’ soccer to Sudbury and ran Steve’s Auto Body and Towing in Marlborough died May 19 after fleeing Hungary and serving as a defuser of land mines during World War II. Afterwards he made Massachusetts his home as a refugee, working at first as an auto repairman at Wayland Garage before later founding his towing service.

Jeffrey recorded additional guitar tracks for My Grand Gift and Michael’s Journey at his Nashville JSS studio, as well as adding keyboard, Hammond organ, bass tracks. Co-producer/ senior engineer Tom Eaton added additional guitar overdubs as well as drum tracks on Acadia Walk; in addition he mixed and mastered at IRS. Tom Eaton is survived by his wife Virginia.