Donald "Don" Frye

All who knew Donald Frye would agree that he squeezed every last drop out of living that he possibly could. He was vibrant, full of life, and someone who never paid much attention to what others thought of him. A devoted family man through and through, life was always more interesting when Don was around whether he was spreading holiday cheer in a Santa suit, comparing tans with his sister-in-law, or arriving to a family function on his own time schedule. A die-hard Cubs fan, Don’s faith in his team never wavered, and he did everything in his power to catch their games. Life will never be the same without Don here, but his family and friends will consider themselves blessed to have known and loved such a remarkable man.

As our nation was deeply entrenched in WWII overseas those left stateside gathered around radios to hear the latest news from the front lines. Rationing was in place on common goods such as flour, butter, paper, and rubber while victory gardens were planted to help lessen the demand on the nation’s food supply. It was during this time of great trial that there was much to celebrate for one young family from Aurora, Illinois, since they were pleased to announce the birth of a healthy baby boy on June 18, 1944. Donald Richard was welcomed into the world by his loving parents, George Wilson and Veronica Marie (Brandt) Frye, and was one of two boys in his family. When he was two years old, Don and his family moved to Berlin, Germany, as the first American military family to live there during WWII. Their family moved to Geneva, Illinois, in 1951 where he attended local schools.

Even as a young boy, Don did things his own way. He and his brother Dave shared a room while they were growing up and certainly did their fair share of bickering. When Don was in the second grade and Dave was in fifth grade, the Frye family lived in a home across from a factory. Every day the boys raced to see which brother would be the first to spot the blue Hudson that drove by each day. Don attended local schools including Geneva High School from which he graduated in 1962.

It was around this same time that Don worked days while Dave worked nights. Both brothers were dating a girl, but neither brother knew that they were actually dating the same girl. Don usually took her out on Fridays while Dave took her out on Saturdays!

With a desire to serve his country, Don was in the United States Army from 1966 through much of 1968. He was a military policeman who liked to have fun, too. While at Fort Snelling, whoever had Saturday night guard duty was on what they called “party duty.” This was a practice in which the soldiers who were off called those who were working to report where the good parties were to attend. After his time in the military was fulfilled, Don returned to Illinois and attended Aurora College, earning his B.S. in Sociology in 1972.

Life was forever changed for Don when he met the woman of his dreams. Her name was Candace Kennedy and after falling deeply in love, they were united in marriage on October 7, 1983, in Geneva. Together they raised their daughter, Kristin, and embraced spending time together. In 1985 their family of three moved to Bourbonnais where Don took a job as an intake counselor for the Workforce Investment Program at Kankakee Community College. Throughout his 23 year career there, he helped countless people accomplish their educational and vocational aspirations until he retired in 2008.

Christmastime was filled with traditions when Don was around. In their own family, he and Candy didn’t begin wrapping presents until after 10:30 at night on Christmas Eve. Once they got to work they listened to Christmas music and drank wine while they wrapped. It is easy to see how their wrapping skills diminished as the night went on! For years Don played Santa Claus for his brother’s children while they were all out of the house at Don’s mother’s place. One year Santa was pulled over by the police so his nieces and nephews thought for sure that Christmas would be ruined since Santa would be tied up in jail. They couldn’t wait to get home that night and once they did, they were all elated to find that Santa really had been able to make it after all!

Family times were always filled with special memories. Who could forget the time in the mid-eighties that the whole family was gathered at Dave and Pat’s as they did every year for Thanksgiving. This particular year the family cat, Sam, jumped up on the table and walked from one end to the other, picking and choosing what he wanted from each person’s plate! Don and Pat had an ongoing competition every year to see who could achieve the darkest tan. Not surprisingly, Don always won.

There were so many things that made Don such a unique man. Being on time was never really his strong suit and as a result, he was always told to arrive an hour early for any family function in order to ensure that he would actually be right on time. Don was also known for his lead foot – so much so that he often had two tickets on his driving record at any given time. His need for speed also got him in trouble one time when he took his car from the family garage and “burned rubber” all the way to McDonald’s. Don wasn’t ever able to return his car to the garage, though, as he ended up hitting a car head on, totaling his car. He enjoyed reading both non-fiction and historical material, and he was a devout Cubs fan who longed for a World Series victory every year. Each spring was always greeted with endless hopes for his beloved Cubbies.

Although we would have loved for Donald Frye to be with us longer, it is amazing to see how many lives he touched while he was here. We will miss his laughter, his antics, and his love, but we will forever cherish his memory.

Donald “Don” Richard Frye died on Tuesday, March 29, 2011. Don’s family includes his wife, Candace Frye of Bourbonnais; his daughter, Kristin (Ryan) Pilota; granddaughter, Mikayla Pilota of Plainfield; brother, David (Patricia) Frye of St. Charles; nieces Charlotte (Brian) Steele of Yorkville and Cheryl (David) Plummer of Geneva; nephews Marc (Lisa) Frye of Antioch; Gregg (Lisa) Frye of Geneva; and 2 great-nieces and 6 great-nephews. Don was preceded in death by his parents. The family is welcoming all family and friends to gather for a celebration of Don's life at the Schreffler Lifestory Funeral Home, Bourbonnais Chapel, on Tuesday, April 5th from 2:00-7:00 p.m. A memorial service will immediately follow from 7:00 -8:00 p.m. Burial of Don’s ashes will occur at a later date at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Illinois. Please visit www.lifestorynet.com where you can leave a memory or make a donation to the Don Frye Memorial Fund.