General Information
Full Name: Mary Margaret Frye
Date of Birth: March 29, 1918
Date of Death: September 4, 2013
Mary’s life story
Mary Margaret Frye
Mary Margaret (Marincel) Frye, 95, died peacefully at her home in Prior Lake on 4 September 2013. A long-time resident of Duluth before moving to Prior Lake, Mary Frye was sustained through her long life by the twin pillars of church and family.
Mary was born in Mountain Iron on 29 March 1918, the third of eight children of Frank and Lucy (Majnarić) Marincel, immigrants from Croatia who labored to build a new life in a mining village on the Mesabi Range. Mary graduated first in her class at Mountain Iron High School in 1936; she then worked for the public schools there, helping to provide for her mother and younger siblings following her father’s untimely death in 1931. Following World War II, she met Lowell Burton Frye, who came to Mountain Iron to teach mathematics; they were married at Sacred Heart Church in 1949. Following brief stints in Iowa and Illinois, they moved to Duluth—residing for a time in Morgan Park, and thereafter in West Duluth—where Lowell taught in the Duluth Public Schools.
With her husband, and then singly following his early and unexpected death, Mary raised seven children: Rosemary, Kathleen, Lowell, George, Bernadette, Laurence, and Therese. For several years she served as bookkeeper for Johnny’s Music, and she was the longtime secretary at her home parish, St. James Catholic Church in West Duluth. In 2004 Mary moved to Prior Lake, where she became a faithful member of St. Michael’s Catholic Church. Throughout her life Mary cherished her Croatian heritage: in 1972 and again in 1988, she visited her parents’ homeland and many cousins, first with her mother and sister Emily, and then with her daughter Bernadette. Her strong Catholic faith sustained her through life’s challenges, and she lived a life of great devotion not only to her immediate but also to her extended family, many of whom gathered in Prior Lake last March to celebrate her ninety-fifth birthday.
Mary was preceded in death by her parents, by her husband Lowell and her daughter Rosemary Frye, and by several siblings: brothers Matthew Marincel of Minneapolis, George Marincel of Mountain Iron, and Frank (Sonny) Marincel of St. Paul; and sisters Anne Dixon of Prior Lake and Jennie Arimond of Hopkins.
Mary is survived by two sisters: Frances Thornton in Michigan and Emily (Honey) Amberg of Prior Lake. Emily was Mary’s frequent companion and closest friend during the past decade. Mary is also survived by six children—Kathleen LeRoy of Duluth, Lowell T. (Elizabeth Deis) Frye of Farmville, Virginia; George M. (Lynn) Frye of Rogers; Bernadette Frye of Minneapolis; Laurence B. (Denise) Frye of Shoreview, and Therese (Jody) Kainz of Maple Grove—as well as by seven grandchildren, Paul LeRoy, Benjamin LeRoy, Lowell Charles Deis Frye, Alice Elizabeth Deis Frye, David Frye, Michael Frye, and Theodore Kainz; two great-grandchildren, Mara LeRoy and Lucinda LeRoy, with a third great-grandson due in November; and by numerous nieces and nephews.
The visitation will be on Thursday, September 12, from 4-7 pm at Ballard-Sunder Funeral Home 4565 Pleasant Street SE, Prior Lake and one hour prior to the mass at the church. The Mass of Christian Burial will be on Friday, September 13 at 11 am, at the Church of St. Michael. Father Tom Sieg will preside. Mary will be laid to rest next to her husband and daughter at Oneota Cemetery in Duluth, MN on Saturday, September 14 at 11 am. A reception will follow at St. James Catholic Church parish house.
The Frye family is served with honor, care and compassion by Ballard-Sunder Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Prior Lake Chapel. www.ballardsunderfuneral.com
Visitation
When: Thursday, September 12th, 4-7 pm
and also one hour prior the service at church
Location: Ballard Sunder Funeral Home
Address: 4565 Pleasant Street SE
Prior Lake, MN
Service Information
When: Friday, September 13th, 11:00 am
Location: Church of St. Michael
Address: 16311 Duluth Ave SE
Prior Lake, MN
Interment
Saturday, September 14th, 11:00 am
Oneota Cemetery
Duluth, MN
