"He led a very clean, beautiful, uncomplicated life,"

What a fantastic story. Quiet charity is the best kind. My grandmother taught me that. I remember waking up early one morning and going out to breakfast with her. But first we stopped to drop off coffee, juice, OJ and newspapers to all her elderly neighbors. It had been her habit for years, but I never knew because she never told anyone. Not the same as giving away millions, but she was still awesome.

That reminds me of another New Englandish philanthropist who when he died also left everything to charity (after providing for his family, etc.). I think a good story out of him was that he saw a woman who was collecting recyclables for the deposits and he asked her once what would make her life easier. Her reply was that sometimes her cart would break down. His response was to get her a nicer, shiner, better cart.

Teach a man to fish, and all...

Wow. That's a really beautiful story.

That's amazing. Wow, it's remarkable that his nature means that they don't even know HOW much he gave away. So impressive.

Very nice. I'm in a good mood now too.

That story is givin' me frickin goosebumps. Holy sh!t, what a guy.

But now that he has died, no one who knew him is holding their tongue. The green space he helped create will be named "Kaminski Park" in his honor.

Classy move!

I thought you guys would enjoy that. It's so rare to see something that nice in the news.

And, for a bit of local color, a friend used to live down the street from him, above a liquor store her parents owned. She said he would come in and buy wine for a couple local churches that were struggling.

To put it in perspective, the East side of Buffalo is the worst part of the city, by far. Buffalo's average income is below the poverty line, and the average income there is well below the city average. About half the residents have a high school education. It's where most of the gang activity is, most of the drug activity, and a shocking amount of arson. It's the kind of place a lot of people simply won't drive through at night (and that often includes the cops!). You can literally buy a house there for $10,000.

So the odds of someone operating a small shop there being a secret millionare are, well, slim to none. Moreso someone having that kind of money and choosing to continue to work and live there. Which is why I'm so completely amazed by this story.

That's a wonderful story. It's the kind of thing that, if I saw it in a movie, I wouldn't believe it.