BUFFALO, N.Y. — Each week on Daybreak Sunday, we honor a life well lived in Western New York. This week 2 On Your Side contributor Larry Haneberg pays tribute to Frederick Attea.
"He managed to save Artpark. It was a love, and it looked like Artpark was not going to survive," said Judith Michael, Frederick Attea's widow.
That's until Attorney Fred Attea stepped in. New York State didn't want to run the venue anymore, and [wanted to] perhaps close it down. Michael tells us Attea wasn't going to let that happen.
"He was on the board and he just, you know, stepped up with his expertise and figured out how they were going to save it," Michael said. "And it was sink or swim."
Attea's good deeds didn't stop there.
"He was a huge supporter of Nativity Miguel, which is a middle school in the inner city. They do great things for children who would not otherwise have advantages. He was just a wonderfully charitable person," said Michael.
A love of music may have helped fuel his devotion to Artpark.
"He loved Bach," Michael said. "He loved classical music. He really loved Broadway. Imagine my surprise when he took me to a Guns and Roses concert. It's wasn't… it certainly wasn't high on my list of things to do."
Helping others was always high on Attea's list, right up to his last day.
"He was gonna go take lunch to his — to his friend, and you know, he almost got there," Michael said. "He almost got to Starbucks — was in the parking lot — and had a heart attack and passed away."
Fred Attea was a wildly accomplished attorney with a distinguished career, and he helped keep music and the arts alive in Western New York.
That's a legacy that will continue long after his life well lived.