This paper recognizes the life work of David L. Fried. The goal is to put the relevance of his contributions to atmospheric optics in context from three perspectives: solutions to real world problems as seen by an experimentalist, insights of his analytical process as perceived by co-workers, and his role as a mentor to bright, young minds passionate about a deeper understanding of the governing physics. During his professional career of sixty years from 1962 to 2022, Fried published 106 refereed papers, cited over 6000 times. This paper reviews the impact of Fried's work, especially addressing his contributions to ameliorating the effects of turbulence on optical system performance and the insight this provides into his analytical approach and interactions with colleagues.