David L. W. Fodor: Rescuer of
Animals
The
accountant was also a mountain man. David Lawrence
William Fodor had moved from his native Staten Island to
the hills of Putnam County, but the plan was to keep on
heading north. He and his wife, Claudia Petrone, had
started scouting possibilities in the Adirondacks last
summer. For the time being they had their rocky two and a
half acres in Garrison with the vegetable garden in front
&emdash; tomatoes, corn, lettuces, scallions and the
beginnings of an herb garden.
It all went to good use in the kitchen. Mr. Fodor's
father was a restaurateur and his mother a caterer, and
he was so avid a chef that he did the cooking at his own
wedding, held at a friend's farm in the Catskills, using
all locally grown produce and New York State wines.
His home being a long way from the city -- he was a
corporate tax accountant at Fiduciary Trust as well as a
volunteer fire warden for his floor at 2 World Trade
Center --- made possible space for an ever-changing
assortment of animals: three dogs and two cats at the
moment. Most came from shelters, but some came from a
Rottweiler kennel in New Jersey where Mr. Fodor, 38,
helped out to learn about breeding and showing. (One of
his Rottweilers won a national championship.)
"He was one of the most fully alive people I've ever
met," his wife said. "He laughed fully, saw the humor and
responded fully to life."
.