Good morning. We are writing to inform you that Elin Alexanderson Frymoyer, our beloved mother, wife, and grandmother, died on April 8 after a long battle with dementia, recently complicated by a broken hip. She went peacefully, two hours after a seizure/stroke at age 86, just shy of mom and dad’s 60th wedding anniversary which would have been on April 15, Tax Day so that dad never forgot! Perhaps she knew that she would not have been able to fully participate in our celebration. Instead, she is finally at peace on her journey to God after a long, hard fight.
Our mom, wife, grandmother, and family matriarch, had a special touch, gently reaching out to others with empathy, and always putting family and friends first. In partnership with dad, she lived with a strong moral compass, well versed in the beliefs and rituals of her lifelong worship at the Episcopal Church. In fact, her parents took her a few times to the Episcopal Church in Plainfield, NJ. Then she started attended on her own and developing her own spiritual identity. She read voraciously, worked for many years as a librarian, and was active in numerous clubs. In her later years, she was the President of the Williamsburg Society for Hard of Hearing, also participating in the Alzheimer’s Association and the Skidmore College Association.
Born in Brooklyn on May 6, 1934, Mom was a fan of the 1950s Brooklyn Dodgers (“them bums”). She grew up in New Jersey and graduated first from Westfield High School and then from Skidmore College in 1956. She received her MA in Library Science from Rosery College in the Chicagoland area around 1986. Then she went to work at the Highwood Public Library for many years.
Mom loved living in Boston after college in group apartments of fellow Skidmore graduates, working as a researcher for the renowned Jean Mayer on experiments on food metabolism that led to better understanding of hunger and obesity. In Boston, most importantly she met dad, who was dating her roommate and the rest is history!
Beyond that, the beach was always a highlight for mom. When she was a child, she went to Jersey Shore every summer near Barnegat Light. Then, the four of us spent a week each of 12 summers, mostly at the old-fashioned Chamberlin Cottages in South Chatham, MA which was walking distance to the Pleasant Street Beach. After we had arrived, she would always say, “can you smell the salt air? It is so invigorating!”
Mom also loved travel. Whether it was Costa Rica, Sweden or the 50 states, she loved studying each locale prior to the journeys. She lived at 24 different addresses in her life, including homes in Chicago, Montreal, St. Louis, and Williamsburg. Mom particularly loved travelling to Italy with Bill Sr, her sister Margaret and husband Charlie, where they rented a house in Tuscany and visited Florence. She also enjoyed renting an apartment on the Isle St. Louis, in the heart of the city of Paris with dad and Nina.
Of course, travel is always better when it happens with family. The Alexanderson family Thanksgiving celebrations in Doylestown, PA were always a highlight, hosted by Diane, John, Kristin, Mike, Karin, Ana, and Ellie. The cuisine, conversations, laughter, and walks were always fun. Similarly, the Williamsburg family gatherings were beloved by Nina, Michele, Isabella, Alex, and Bill, II. We would spend the day visiting historic sites before we would gather for gourmet dinners around the dining room table. One Christmas there was an ice storm, and the power was out so we had to have the usual feast around the table with everyone in winter coats. Dad even cooked the lamb roast over the grill after it was seasoned of course by mom.
Finally, Mom dearly loved seeing her grandkids, Isabella, and Alex. She, dad, and Nina especially loved our summer trips together to Southwest Harbor, Maine that started in 2001, before Isabella was one and kept on until 2016, with Alex joining in 2007. That year she still went swimming in Echo Lake and played ball in the front yard. She also enjoyed watching Isabella’s field hockey matches and Alex’s baseball games, attending as many as she could.
In 2011, Mom and Dad moved in with Nina in Ashburn, VA to be closer to family. Nina’s cat Patches quickly became Mom’s favorite. Patches always joined mom in her chair, the best in the living room. As Mom got older, she fed Patches “Fat Cat” Frymoyer early and often, becoming even more popular with her feline friend.
Peace and Love to Each of You,
Bill Frymoyer II, Bill Frymoyer, Sr, and Nina Frymoyer
Mom and Dad, Copley Square, 2015
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