John William Frey 1925-1994

PERKINS, FREY, LEETE, WHEELER, MEDBERRY, LEAHY

Posted By: Mary Durr (email)
Date: 1/2/2010 at 19:18:27

Funeral services were held May 4, 1994 at 11 a.m. at First United Methodist Church, Fayette, Iowa, the Rev. Tom Blatek officiating, for John W. Frey. Burial was in Grandview Cemetery, Fayette, Iowa.

John William Frey, son of William and Hazel (Perkins) Frey, was born Aug. 7, 1925 on a farm east of Wadena, Iowa. He was baptized in the Wadena Presbyterian Church at an early age; attended the rural school and graduated from Wadena High School in 1942. He worked for local farmers until entering the navy in 1944. Before finishing boot camp, he was placed in the Seabees Construction Battalion and transferred to Davisville, Rhode Island. He was later sent to California and on to Okinawa, where they worked to rebuild the base.

On Jan. 11, 1947, he married Colleen Leete of Volga at the Little Brown Church in Nashua. To this union, three children were born. John was a farmer for 47 years, 40 of those on the same farm south of Fayette. He continued farming with his son Jack, even after moving into Fayette three years ago. John was an avid sports fan and rarely missed any event his kids or grandchildren were in. He played softball himself on the Old Timers Team until he was in his 60s. He was a man of few words, but had a proud love for his family, as anyone could see.

John was a member of First United Methodist Church, serving on the finance board and as trustee; the American Legion Post 631 of Wadena for 48 years, holding all offices, and currently, finance officer for the county. He had been trustee for Westfield Township for several terms, and a member of Corn Growers Association and Farm Bureau.

He was preceded in death by his parents; one nephew, Richard Wheeler; and one brother-in-law, Kenneth Medberry. Surviving are his wife, Colleen; one daughter, Marsha Kaye (Don) Leahy of West Union; two sons, John Kevin "Jack" (Sue) Frey of Fayette and Randy Paul (Rhonda) Frey of Cedar Rapids; seven grandchildren; two brothers, Warren (Berle) Frey of West Union and Lindy (Betty) Frey of Postville; two sisters, Irene (Archie) Wheeler of Wadena and Dora Medberry of Elgin; 11 nieces and nephews and a host of friends.

Postville Herald-Leader newspaper clipping from my mother's obituary collection.
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