Lya Korda: An Uncommon Mensan

Lya Korda was born on the Fourth of July, a real live niece of Uncle Sam, once removed, in Hungary, where she earned her MA in Design. After World War II, having survived both the German and Russian occupations, Lya left Hungary for a one-year study of nursing in Scotland, and she forgot to return. (This explains her unique speech, known to her friends as "Scungarican." According to Lya, she speaks perfect Hungarian and German and "some English.") Extending her stay in Scotland, Lya completed her SRMN and became a charge nurse in a mental institution — her explanation for her affinity for Mensans.

Arriving in New York in 1954, Lya found her first job as a bus girl at a Horn & Hardart automat, a job that lasted only two weeks before she was hired as a textile designer. That employment kept her traveling through most of the eastern United States to various plants while supervising printing of her designs. She claimed it was her way to travel in this new land while being "piss-poor."

In 1963, Lya joined Mensa in New York City, rapidly becoming an integral part of that local group and American Mensa. She designed the Isolated M logo, worked on the M-Phasis newsletter, and was AMC Graphic Arts Advisor for 14 years. During Karl Ross's tenure as Bulletin editor, Lya worked on that magazine. During the 1970s, she designed the life certificate and other membership certificates, as well as the first illustrated Mensa 8-page publicity brochure. She also designed many of the original Mensa Boutique items and the very first Life Member pin. The AMC awarded her an Honorary Life Membership.

Phil Rosenblatt, one of the original Manhattan Project physicists, was completely captivated by Lya, and the couple married in 1970. Flying high, they vacationed for over two months by flying around South America — he as pilot, she as copilot. They later negotiated a plane crash from which all four of the plane's occupants walked away — despite the shearing off of both wings.

Phil and Lya moved to south Florida in 1977. Phil became a fine artist and sculptor in his own right before he passed away in 1987. In Florida, Lya continued her multifaceted life, teaching commercial art, serving as president of a local art guild, illustrating several books, and even completing a magnificent mural of Machu Picchu for the Graves Museum of Archaeology and Natural History. Always a bit of a scamp, Lya's museum replica of an Egyptian sarcophagus contained a mummy on whose chest the hieroglyphics read "Dolphins" in tribute to the Miami football team.

Since her move to Florida, Lya has contributed her expertise to Broward Mensa, designing covers and contributing to the health of the local group. Among these contributions the group includes the $34 raised for the scholarship auction one year to keep her from singing. In addition to Mensa activities, Lya remains active in fencing (holding many women's fencing championships in her category), and maintains a great interest in Scrabble™, Native Americans, and heraldry.

Lya Korda is Mensa at its best — a caring, hard-working, indefatigable, unforgettable personality, exemplifying the range of talents and interests for which Mensans are known. Lya is also the best friend anyone could desire. As anyone who has met Lya knows, she is unstoppable — always going forward.

—Carol Lee Vitale