Margaret Ellen Frye

Margaret Ellen De Armond Frye was born March 2, 1931, in Oklahoma City and died July 18, 2024, of mantle cell lymphoma in Rochester Minnesota.

She met her future husband as fellow kindergartners at Wilson Grade School when she pushed him off the merry-go-round. The sister of her future husband, Verna Lou Frye Townsend (deceased) was her best friend from elementary school throughout their adult lives and was the sister of her future husband. She is a graduate of Classen Senior High School Oklahoma City and Mills College Oakland California.

She married Robert Leo Frye July 7, 1954, and they proceeded to embark together on a journey of love, partnership, and lifelong education that took them to Nashville (Vanderbilt University), Washington DC (National Heart Institute at the National Institutes of Health), and Baltimore (Johns Hopkins Hospital Osler House staff) ultimately settling in Rochester Minnesota for the next 60 years. Married 70 years, they raised five children on Hawthorne Hill, inspired five grandchildren and five great grandchildren, and traveled with family and friends, near and far, all over the world.

Her warmth, generosity and intelligence brought people together; her kitchen or dining room table storytelling, about the neighborhood or the world, sometimes contrarian or controversial, kept people together. Personifying that medicine and friendships knew no international boundaries, weekends were spent preparing Thai curries as a sous chef under Dr. Tada Yipintsoi, perfecting paella, or Kiwi pavlova. Mrs. Frye would host and cook Thanksgiving & Christmas dinners for at least 30 guests always including lifelong friends Colleen & Gerry Gau, Elizabeth & Erik Ritman, Paul & Nettie Hermans (an Okie, Canadian, Australian, Dutch quartet for 50+ years), and Mayo Clinic residents and fellows from all over the world. Any forlorn house staff on the floor came to Hawthorne Hill, oftentimes with only a 2-hour notice to add a place setting. She graciously welcomed to her home (and pool) internal medicine residents, cardiology fellows, cardiology staff, and families, every summer, building camaraderie and friendships along the way.

A devotee of Pavarotti, Dolora Zajick, and Sherrill Milnes at Lincoln Center, she and her husband toured the opera houses of the world (Met & Staatsoper their favorites) and embraced the White Nights Festival at the Marinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. Equally enjoyable were ski trips to Park City with the 20+ Frye clan, pilgrimages to Spider Lake with Ruth and Dan Connolly, local JM football games, legendary July 4th parties, and visiting her children when they too sought to be global citizens. She had a love for book and bridge clubs with a clever curiosity that contributed to her aging gracefully.

She is survived by her husband of 70 years, Dr. Robert Leo Frye, and her children David (Cody, daughter in law) Frye, Paul Frye, Phil Frye, Mark Frye, and Cynthia Frye, grandchildren Sean Timothy (Maddie) Frye, Ryan David (Jessie) Frye, Anna Christie (Tim) Galluzzi , Robert James Frye, Matthew Todd Frye, and great grandchildren Owen William Frye, Quinn Eloise Frye, Jack Cody Frye, Silas Alexander Galluzzi and Ronan Barbato Galluzzi.

A special thanks to Dr. Ericka E. Tung, a magnificent physician who provided compassionate care at every stage of aging gracefully and Charter House Supported Living, Mayo Clinic Hospice, and Visiting Angels. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts on behalf of Margart Ellen Frye can be made to the American College of Cardiology. https://www.acc.org/About-ACC/Support-the-ACC#give

A Celebration of Life will take place Sunday July 21, 2024, at 2PM at Ranfranz & Vine Funeral Homes (5421 Royal Place NW, Rochester, MN 55901) https://www.ranfranzandvinefh.com/.