Andre Friedman died on October 3, 2018 at age 90. He was a Holocaust survivor, a learned scholar and world traveler fluent in four languages. He was an attorney, a successful businessman, a music lover, charitable, and a loving and devoted husband to Rita, father to Peter and Marzanna, and grandfather to Jennifer. A humanitarian and loyal friend, he was an inspiration to those privileged to know him. (From the obit in The New York Times, 10/14/18)
Andre was born in 1928, an upper-middle class Hungarian Jew in his hometown of Salgotarjan. His life meandered through upheavals in Europe, then travels to Israel, France, England, and finally to the United States where he met and married Rita. Andre’s extraordinary life’s journey is chronicled in a 2016 article in the JewishStandard.
For those in the autism community he will be remembered for the tremendous contribution of time, energy, and funding that he, his wife Rita, and their son Peter made to help form the Peter M. Friedman Neurodiverse Couples Institute, which launched this fall.
The mission of the Peter M. Friedman Neurodiverse Couples Institute is to increase awareness, support, and resources for neurodiverse couples – in which one or both members has an Asperger/Autism spectrum profile – by providing specialized training for therapists to recognize, understand, and treat this unique population.
We at AANE remember Andre fondly, and his legacy will continue to serve countless families.