She was a writer who had interviewed such celebrities as William Shatner and Carol Burnett. And Judith Schonbak loved art, and her passion was contagious.
“She just inspired people,” longtime friend Liefje Smith told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
On Sunday, Schonbak was making her weekly trip to deliver groceries to a friend when her car was hit by a truck investigators believe was stolen. Schonbak, 79, was killed in the wreck.
When Schonbak didn’t show up at her friend’s home, those closest to her became worried.
“If Judith was going to be that late, she would’ve called,” friend Amy Spanier said.
Schonbak’s daughter drove the same route her mother would have taken and saw the multi-vehicle wreck at the intersection of Chamblee Tucker Road and Buford Highway. Family and friends were devastated to learn Schonbak had not survived. She would have turned 80 later this month.
According to the Georgia State Patrol, Jonathan A. Sanchez, 20, of Tucker stole a 2007 Ford F-150 from the parking lot of a Buford Highway business around 3 p.m. Sunday. A young boy was inside the truck, which had been left running while the owner was inside the business, Lt. Stephanie Stallings said.
Sanchez tried to leave in the stolen vehicle and hit two parked cars, Stallings said. At some point, he removed the child from the truck and drove away, heading north on Buford Highway. When he ran a red light at the intersection of Chamblee Tucker Road, he smashed into Schonbak’s 2010 Honda Civic, which had the right of way, according to Stallings. The impact between the vehicles led to a series of crashes with other cars.
Credit: Special to The AJC
Credit: Special to The AJC
Sanchez was charged with murder, first-degree vehicular homicide, failure to obey traffic control devices, speeding and felony hit-and-run, the State Patrol said.
Many in the arts community are grieving a woman who served as a tireless advocate, her friends said.
Spanier, who owns the IDEA Gallery in Chamblee, met Schonbak about a year ago. Both Schonbak and Smith stopped by the gallery while headed to lunch, Spanier said. But Schonbak and Spanier talked for so long, the lunch date didn’t happen.
Schonbak returned to the gallery the following day and immediately began helping to organize files — her level-headed skills balanced Spanier’s creativity.
“She just took care of me. We took care of each other,” Spanier said. “She was just so engaging, and she knew everything about art. I was so lucky.”
A native of Pittsburgh, Schonbak moved to Atlanta in 1974, according to her family. She attended The College of William & Mary, where she served as a seamstress for theater productions.
“She was an artist, a writer and a naturalist to the core,” her family said in an emailed statement. “She loved her family with a fierce passion and she was deeply connected to the natural world; tending to birds, trees and flowers of all kinds with a keen eye and protective heart.”
Schonbak served on the board of the Atlanta Artists Center four times, including two terms as president from 2004 until 2005 and then again in 2013 through 2014, Smith said. During her tenures, volunteer numbers soared, Smith said.
“She provided the vision and leadership during that time,” she said.
Schonbak had even inspired Smith to share her work with a gallery.
“She said, ‘You’re ready. You’re ready,’” Smith recalled. “She gave me the courage to do it.”
In 2003, Schonbak was quoted in an AJC article about a walking tour of art on display at the former Turner Field.
“I think the most amazing thing to everybody was the scope of the art and the quality,” Schonbak said at the time, when she was executive vice president of the Atlanta Artists Center. “Even as artists I didn’t think we knew that at a sports facility there’d be so much fine art. The sculpture, the photography is really fantastic.”
Schonbak’s bylines were featured in the AJC Travel section in the 1990s, and she also worked as a freelancer for Atlanta Magazine and the Cobb Energy Center.
Schonbak is survived by her daughter McKenzie Wren, son-in-law Reuben Haller, grandsons Devon and Elijah Haller, son Chris Wren, and daughter-in-law Cindy Wren. Her extended family also includes several siblings, nieces and nephews.
An online memorial is planned for Sunday, Aug. 9.
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