Frederick Joseph Manzella

Manzella, Frederick Joseph

Frederick Joseph Manzella of Ithaca, NY, passed away Sunday, June 2, 2013, after a short illness, at the age of 61. Born in Buffalo, NY, Fred was the son of the late Fred F. and Helen J. (Groblewski) Manzella. He will be greatly missed by his loving wife and companion of 13 years, Fran Spadafora Manzella married August 25, 2000, on top of Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine. He was predeceased by his parents; his brother-in-law; who was like a brother, Vinnie Spadafora; his mother-in-law Rose; and his loving dog Blue. In addition to his wife he is survived by his daughter Elizabeth Manzella (Curtis Poole), grandson DeSean Poole and the children of Curtis Poole, Antonio and Juliet of Elmira, NY; his brother James Manzella (Frank Warninski) of Pittsburgh, PA; mother of Elizabeth, Kate McKenzie; many nieces and nephews and cousins including Renee Rosa (Lou) and Margaret Sowinski Kaine (Bob); Aunt Florence Sowinski; brothers-in law, who were like brothers, Dick Spadafora (Jan), Tom Spadafora (Peggy), Bob Spadafora; sister-in-law, who was like a sister, Jaki Boyd (Bill), sister-in-law and friend Elaine Spadafora; many loving friends, neighbors, fellow volunteers, former colleagues; and his cherished dogs Jac and Una. Fred lived in Buffalo, Corning, Elmira, Rochester, and Ithaca where he met Fran. Fred graduated from Hutchinson Technical High School, Buffalo NY; Corning Community College with an Associate in Applied Science Degree in Nursing; and Elmira College as an Honors Scholar with a BS in Psychology. Fred worked at the Elmira Psychiatric Center for more than 30 years, starting as a nurse, becoming a staff development specialist, a utilization review manager, Assistant to the Director and retiring as Quality Assurance Director in 2006. In 1987 he was the employee of the year. Fred enjoyed performing with the Elmira Little Theatre and particularly his last role as Stanley Kowalski in Street Car Named Desire. "Stella." He loved Louie's Hot Dog restaurant in Buffalo, with their special sauce. He was a loyal and zealous fan of the Buffalo Bills. He enjoyed bike racing in the 1990s and most recently hiking with and without his dogs Jac and Una. He was a caring father and grandfather and enjoyed watching his grandson DeSean and his brother Antonio play football. Other favorite activities were kayaking, bird watching, reading, gardening, spending time with his dogs, friends and family, going to the theater and movies, discussing issues of the day, and spending time in Cape Cod and Maine. Fred was on the Board of the Cancer Resource Center of the Finger Lakes and as a volunteer provided support to clients of the Center, and volunteered in their program at Cayuga Medical Center. He was a member of the Friends of Acadia, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society. We will miss his soothing voice, his kindness and caring character, his quirky sense of humor, generous spirit, thoughtfulness, strong will, courage, strength, meticulous work ethic and love and wonder of technology. We also will miss hearing Fred say, "The fact of the matter is . . ." especially when discussing political issues. A Celebration of Fred's Life will be held in Ithaca, Sunday, July 21, at Stewart Park in the large pavilion starting at 4:30. There will be a memorial service at Elmira Psychiatric Center later in June. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Fred's name may be made to the Cancer Resource Center, 612 W. State St., Ithaca NY 14850; Tompkins County SPCA, 1640 Hanshaw Rd. Ithaca, NY 14850; and Harbor House of Rochester, 89 Rossiter Road, Rochester, NY 14620 or a charity of your choice.