Clyde Clifford Fry

Clyde was born to Earl S. and Lucile C. Netzley Fry at the Netzley Homestead on May 7, 1933 and reared on the Naper Homestead in Naperville, Illinois. He was baptized at the Bethel Church of the Brethren on April 22, 1943, licensed to the ministry in the Church of the Brethren on April 22, 1951, ordained August 28, 1955 (Northern Illinois/Wisconsin District), and ordained an elder on October 22, 1958 (Oklahoma/Texas District). He was educated in the Naperville Public Schools, Manchester College (Indiana), North Central College (Naperville).

A believer in “life-long-learning” he remained active in continuing education to sharpen his skills and add new skills to his practice at various institutions of higher learning through-out his lifetime. He was a member of and past president (1988) of The Academy of Parish Clergy, an international, inter-faith group that promotes standards of competence and practice in pastoral work. Clyde had special interests in ethnography (Candler School of Theology, Atlanta), ethics, conflict control/resolution, and church administration.

Clyde married Elsie Belle Fike, daughter of Rev. Lester and Elna Fike (Dayton, Ohio), a fellow student at Manchester College, on June 6, 1954. They raised two daughters, Linda L. Fry and Nancy J. Fry.

Clyde served parishes at Waka, Texas (1955-59), Myersville, Maryland (1959-63), Birmingham, Alabama (1963-66), and Mansfield, Ohio (1966-97).

While serving in the Church of the Brethren Texas/Oklahoma District he nurtured a small group in Morse, Texas that eventually organized itself as a Methodist congregation. Clyde was the editor of the district newsletter, “The District Reflector” and chaired the Board of Administration. He was district youth camp director for three years and wrote curriculum for one year. Clyde worked with the Texas Council of Churches to allow individual congregations to join as members and worked with a committee in Oklahoma to lay the foundation for forming an Oklahoma Council of Churches. He volunteered for Church World Service/CROP in three Texas counties, collecting donations of wheat to be shipped to Algeria to help alleviate their food crisis.

In Maryland, Clyde was senior pastor of a three-point charge with 900 members, the Middletown Valley Congregation. His assignment was to help the members at each of the three meeting houses organize into separate congregations which he did. He served as a district youth camp director and wrote curriculum for an experimental “traveling youth camp.” He was a delegate to the Maryland Governor’s Council on the Aging and served on a committee that worked on legislation to remove architectural barriers for disabled persons.

In Alabama, Clyde was sent to a struggling home-missions congregation in the Birmingham suburb of Center Point. The civil rights movement was in high gear and came to a head with the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church, on 9-15-1963. The social disruption sent the local economy into decline. The public schools were strained by insufficient financial support, racial strife, and political buffoonery. Clyde assisted several public-school teachers in the local school by installing minor equipment in their classrooms. He led a children’s Vacation Bible School on the origin of the different races and the basis for racial equality. He defended equal rights with Biblical teaching from the pulpit and in pastoral service. His work was not well received by the locals and he resigned in 1966.

In 1966, he was called to the Mansfield, Ohio congregation. Clyde continued to be very involved in the community as well as the work of the congregation, the district, and the national church. In 1968, the government cut funding for Head Start. Pastor Fry and Helen Moholland, local YMWCA executive, recruited a steering committee to direct the staff and raise funds to keep Head Start going in 1968-1969 until funding was restored. Mansfield was the first community in the country where churches and community groups did this, and communities around the country followed Mansfield’s example.

While president of the Mansfield Council of Churches (MCC), Clyde and two other pastors brought “Fish Ministry” to Mansfield. Started in February 1969, “Fish” was a 24/7 emergency phone hotline for the community in the days when community services were limited. This ecumenical effort was staffed by volunteers from the churches who answered the phone and provided what help they could or referred callers to existing community services where possible. Transportation to doctor appointments, providing lodging and gas to stranded travelers, and providing food were among the services offered. In 1975, Clyde helped print the first ever Community Resource Directory listing resources and services locally available to facilitate making referrals. Several congregations, including the Mansfield Church of the Brethren (which started a pantry in 1969), set up food pantries to meet the constant need for food aid. Fish continued through November 1988 by which time government and community agencies were in place that reduced the need for the services provided by Fish Ministry. Due to difficulties in managing food distribution, in 1985 and 1986, Clyde was asked to set up a system to coordinate food distribution in the area. He worked with 10 area groups to clarify mission statements and set up a system of interagency cooperation.

In 1975, when Pastor Clyde and Father Jerry Ceranowski of St. Mary of the Snows solemnized a wedding of a catholic and protestant couple. The two pastors enjoyed working together and decided to invite other area pastors to join them. Father Sylvan Obergefell joined them and the three wrote a statement of purpose for gathering interested churches together: “To share our oneness in Christ through mutual experiences of worship and acts of service in the East Side Community”. Soon Pastor Henry Edelenbos of Mayflower UCC and Pastor John Keithley of St. Timothy Lutheran joined the group, and the East Side Church Association was formed. Their first project was to collect food for the Salvation Army which was dedicated at a prayer service with the breaking of bread on March 14, 1976, at St. Mary’s. Trinity United Methodist and East Hills United Presbyterian joined the Association that year, and the first East Side Good Friday service was held at Mayflower. Christian Unity services, Thanksgiving services, and Choral Festivals followed through the years. Other activities included:

• Sponsoring a Vietnamese Refugee family (St. Timothy Lutheran and First Church of the Brethren took the lead)

• A 1979 Advent advertising project with the slogan “Christ Makes Christmas Beautiful.” A rose was the symbol used. Large signs appeared in front of all the church buildings and smaller ones in each member’s yard. Brochures were mailed to everyone on the East side of Mansfield with the text: “A Rose, by any other name is still a Rose! Christians gather under many different names . . . Lutheran, Brethren, Catholic, Methodist, United Church of Christ, Presbyterian, etc. . . . But they are still Christians seeking to increase their love of God and neighbor. Christians who are working, worshiping, and serving in Christ’s name . . . It is a beautiful thing! . . . and when different churches work together it is like bringing roses together in a vase . . .Beautiful! We are a group of east side churches who serve together . . . We love Christ and the Church. We love each other. We love you. If you do not have a church home, why not join us!”

• For a public forum on a controversial Madison School Bond issue on March 25, 1985; Clyde was asked to moderate the meeting.

• An annual lunch for senior citizens

• Food collections for local pantries

• Other outreach project support

The East Side Church Association was active for more than 40 years.

Clyde continued participation in a pulpit exchange with the Mansfield Mt. Herman Baptist Church, then served by Pastor Joel King, Martin Luther King’s Uncle. Pastor Bill Walters, Clyde’s predecessor, then Pastor Fry, and Pastor King worked together on this effort. The two congregations shared worship with each other, taking turns worshiping together at both their buildings. This cooperative effort continued for some 20 years.

In 1982, Clyde mentored a Bethany seminary student pastor, Ruth Anne Belser, for her summer internship. He was pastor during the construction of an addition to the Mansfield church building which was dedicated in 1993. It included an elevator to make the building accessible and some remodeling of the existing building. Clyde served the Mansfield, Ohio congregation for 31 years, retiring in 1997. Later, while serving as interim pastor at Mansfield, with Delbert Kettering in 2013, Clyde introduced the use of power point with his preaching.

He worked with the Ohio Council of Churches. In 1992, he was responsible for planning their annual Pastor’s Convocation. Because it was the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Columbus in America, an effort was made to acknowledge the impact of that event on Native Americans. The theme for the convocation was Native America Spirituality. Clyde worked with representatives of the Native American community to plan the event and have Native American representatives serve as presenters at the continuing education sessions. He also worked with the Native American community to have an authentic Native American meal at the convocation banquet that year.

On the Church of the Brethren District level, Clyde served as moderator of the Northern Ohio District 4 times (the only person to do so) and as Worship Coordinator for District Conference twice. He has been chair of the District Board, and served on District committees including the Shalom Team. He filled in when the District Executive was on sabbatical and later served, with Carl Caywood, as Interim District Executive during the process of selecting a new District Executive. He was the District Creation Care Advocate 2008-2024, publishing a quarterly Creation Care newsletter. On the Church of the Brethren national level, Clyde served on Annual Conference Standing Committee and on other national committees. He had been elected moderator in two of the other districts in which he served as well. Clyde also served as moderator for the Marion and Owl Creek Churches of the Brethren for many years He was moderator of the Mohican Church of the Brethren and worked with other congregations in the District as well.

Clyde was a jack of all trades which he learned from his father. He did carpentry, electrical work, plumbing, and masonry work. He was also a printer, having had his own printing press. He embraced computer technology and used it in his writing and publishing pursuits. He wrote numerous essays and articles on ministry, creation care, and church history. He published a number of newsletters during his ministry. He loved gardening and yard work, model trains, history, animals, and hiking. He wrote poetry and hymn texts as well as training materials and curriculum materials over the years. He was an advocate for peace and justice, participating in numerous social justice and nature conservation groups.

Clyde died on September 14, 2024. He was preceded in death by his parents; 3 half-sisters, June (Widick) Bains, Arlene (Widick) Cook, and Dorothy (Fry) Whitmore; a half-brother, Don Fry; Elsie’s parents, Lester and Elna Hylton Fike; Elsie’s sister, Kathleen (husband, Merrill) Mow; and Elsie’s step mother, Rebecca Barr Fike. He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Elsie Belle (Fike) Fry; two daughters, Linda Fry and Nancy Fry; and numerous nieces and nephews.

A celebration of Clyde’s life will be held at the First Church of the Brethren in Mansfield, Ohio on October 12. An opportunity to visit with the family will be held from 10:00-11:00 a.m. The service will be at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Church of the Brethren Global Food Initiative through the Mansfield Church of the Brethren Congregation, 889 Grace Street.

Advantage Funeral and Cremation Services by Wappner is honored to serve the family.

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