Gaston Vadasz died at home in the early morning hours of April 2 after a long battle with metastatic prostate cancer.

His remarkable life from the time he was an infant hidden from the Nazis by a Christian family in Hungary, to his career in media/marketing in the U.S. and in Budapest, and finally as a tour guide on Martha’s Vineyard, has been chronicled in his forthcoming memoir, The Glass Always Half Full: A Journey of Hope, Dreams, and Reality. Excerpts have been read publicly by him and his friends.

Gaston was the son of the late Valerie Violet (Lazar) Vadasz and Geza Vadasz. He came to this country as a refugee, arriving in New York harbor on Feb. 14, 1957, with his mother and brother Tibor. Gaston and his mother settled in Elmhurst, Queens, where he attended Newtown High School. He played the clarinet, sang in the choir and excelled at sports. At Queens College, he was a reporter for the school newspaper and appeared in his first role in a play.

He started his career in media and marketing at several advertising agencies, including Compton (now Saatchi & Saatchi), Doyle Dane Bernbach and then at Ogilvy & Mather, before switching to radio time sales and management. His career took him to CBS in New York City, WMAL in Washington, D.C., and then to several stations in Massachusetts, including WAAF in Worcester and WJIB in Boston.

While working at Doyle Dane, he met Linda Percell, his future wife of 55 years. They married in 1969, and three years later their daughter Nicole was born.

After living in Bethesda, Md. and Worcester no one would have expected that Gaston and Linda would live as expats in Hungary starting in 1994.

Besides his work in radio, he was a patron of the Hungarian Special Olympics Committee, served on the board of MIGHelp, which gave refugees support and skills in a new country, and served on the development committee of the Budapest Festival Orchestra.

He appeared in several international films and TV shows that were shot in Hungary, including World Without End (2012), Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia (2012), The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared (2013 ), and Dracula (2013).

He and Linda owned a small vineyard on the northern shore of Lake Balaton,

where their annual grape harvest grew into a three-day party for dozens of friends and family.

When they moved to Martha’s Vineyard in 2013, Gaston immersed himself in Island activities, including the Peter Luce Play Readers, the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center, and as a member of the osprey monitoring team organized by the Audubon Society’s Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary. He always enjoyed the season’s arrival of those great birds and took pleasure in identifying the various species that fed from the backyard bird feeder.

He took the most joy from spending time with his two granddaughters. He was so proud of their accomplishments in school activities, including their theatrical productions, as well as piano recitals and clarinet concerts.

He is survived by his wife, Linda, and their daughter, Nicole, wife of his beloved son-in-law Benjamin Cabot, along with their daughters Violet and Reed.

The funeral was held on Wednesday, April 3 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center with burial at the Jewish Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his name to Hospice and Palliative Care of Martha’s Vineyard, or to the Jewish Learning and Culture Fund of the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center, or to the International Rescue Committee.