Anthony James Nagy

Anthony J. Nagy
of Buffalo, at the age of 45, on August 7th, 2016 after a brave battle with cancer.

Loving Son of Karin Natress.  Beloved Grandson of Mary Jane Martello.  Constant Companion of James Garland.

Also survived by several aunts, uncles, cousins and loving friends. 

A Celebration of Life will be celebrated at Chestnut Ridge Park "Shelter 31" on Sunday, Sept. 4th at 11:00 a.m.  

Anthony James (Martello) Nagy, 6/24/1971 – 8/7/2016

Passed peacefully in Buffalo, NY at the age of 45 after fighting a courageous battle with cancer, surrounded by family and friends.   Tony was the loving son of Karin Nattress and devoted grandson of Mary Jane Martello both of Portville, NY.   He is also survived by constant companion James Garland of Buffalo, NY, several aunts, uncles and cousins as well as scores of dear friends in many parts of the country.

Tony was unique.  While growing up in Portville, NY, he developed a love of roller skating, marching bands, swimming and diving, and dirt-track racing.  He was on the Portville Central Schools swimming team and a member of its marching band, which competed in many regional competitions.  He excelled in Math and enjoyed Latin. 

Tony knew he was gay at an early age.  He moved to Cleveland, Ohio in his early 20s where he began working in the Hospitality industry and met Thomas Nagy, with whom he spent 16 years, legally changing his last name to show his commitment before the legalization of same-sex marriage.  In Cleveland, Tony became involved in drag pageants as a judge and promoter of many of the competitions in Ohio and surrounding states, in particular within the Entertainer of the Year organization.  Following these competitions remained a passion right up to his death, as well as his interests in dirt-track racing and marching band competitions.  He was also a great fan of NASCAR, especially Jeff Gordon, and of college basketball, being a die-hard Duke University fan.  You could always count on Tony to have his bracket filled out!!

Tony returned to New York following the sudden death of his partner Thomas in 2009.  He lived with his mother in Portville until he took a hotel job in Buffalo and moved there, moving in with new friends Luis Martinez and Jeff Wilson, with whom he resided for most of the rest of his life.

In 2013, Tony met James Garland, and the two quickly became inseparable.  James, being very involved in the Buffalo running community, would take Tony along to the runs he participated in, and Tony became the ad hoc navigator/organizer for James and his other running friends, helping James meet his goal of running in over 100 races in 2015.  As he did every where he went, Tony made an entirely new group of friends.

Tony and James would often take spontaneous drives to the Southern Tier, always taking the back roads, stopping at little diners and historical markers (which Tony loved to take pictures of).  They would often end up in Portville or Olean so they could visit Tony’s mother and the places where he grew up.  They went to dirt track races, where Tony could cheer on his favorite local drivers.   Even as his health declined, Tony did his best to remain involved, staying active up to the last week of his life.  James helped Tony realize a life-long dream of visiting the Daytona Speedway in February 2016.  Never admitting defeat to cancer, Tony, the week before his passing, had sent in the application for his Passport in anticipation of a planned trip to Rome, Italy with James.

If “The truest measure of your words and your deeds will be the love you leave behind when you’re gone” …then Tony left a very large legacy indeed.

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