- Doris Annette Seawell Frye, age 84, passed away on Saturday, October 22, 2022. She was preceded in death by her father, Lendo Jackson Seawell, her mother Annette Curry Seawell, and her brother Lendo Jackson (LJ) Seawell, Jr. Surviving are her husband, John William (Bill) Frye, Jr.; her three children, daughter Darsan Genoa Elbert and husband Wayne Elbert, her son John William Frye III and wife Shelley Frye, and her daughter Kimberly Dru Beckett and husband David Beckett. Doris has 10 grandchildren, 1 great-grandchild, a nephew, a niece, and many, many extended family members, and friends.
Doris grew up on a large family farm in Moore County, NC outside the small-town of Carthage. Growing up, Doris was recognized for her many talents. Doris was tall, slender, and athletic which landed her a starting position as forward on the Carthage High School women’s basketball team and that was when she was only in the 8th grade! During high school, she toured the state of NC singing in a woman’s trio that was in high demand being asked to sing at local churches, county fairs, and at special celebrations. Doris went on to attend Kings Business College in Raleigh, NC graduating with an Associate Degree in Administration.
Doris, at the age of 18, married her high-school sweetheart, Bill, on June 30, 1956, at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Carthage, NC. Doris and Bill shared a deep, God-honoring, loving relationship for over 65+ years. As the wife of a career Air Force Pilot, Doris travelled throughout the US and overseas, always establishing her family’s “base of operations” wherever the Air Force led them. Whether in Texas, Ohio, Colorado, California, Florida, Japan, Bolivia, or Panama, Doris managed the Frye home with skill, love, and dedication.
In addition to her primary calling to raise her family, Doris also served as an Executive Administrative Assistant in the US Civil Service for 14 years. It was fitting that her civil service was within the Air Force’s Office of Personnel in support of the Air Force’s mission to recruit, train, deploy, and care for some of the best pilots in the world.
A significant part of Doris’ life was serving her community faithfully for 35+ years through the ministries of First Baptist Church of Universal City. There, she continued to share her beautiful voice singing as a soprano in the church choir, using her creative teaching gifts in the children’s ministry, and in being an active, supportive member of her Sunday School class.
Doris’ most recent years were spent keeping up with, praying for, and always encouraging her adult children and her numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren. Nana, as her grandchildren call her, never missed a birthday and you could always count on a note of encouragement, often with some spending money, when your birthday rolled around.
Throughout her life, Doris was an avid plant enthusiast who could revive almost any plant no matter how pathetic it looked. She was also appreciated for her delicious cooking which included specialty foods she had learned to cook from her travels around the world as well as her perfected family-loved classics like tacos, enchiladas, fried chicken, and country styled steak.
Doris’ gift of service and hospitality were also evident throughout her life. She shared her childhood home with foster brothers and sisters from a local family who lost their parents and squeezed into her Texas home for almost a year, a family of five fleeing from a foreign hostile political regime. Doris’ willingness to sacrifice, care for and love others was a lesson she taught us all in she gave selflessly to those around her.
A Celebration of Life Service for Mrs. Frye will be held Saturday, November 19, at 11:00 am at the First Baptist Church of Universal City (FBCUC) located at 1401 Pat Booker Road, Universal City, TX 78148. Pastor David Lindow will be officiating. Immediately following the service, all are invited to share a meal and time of fellowship at the church’s fellowship hall.
In lieu of flowers, a donation is welcomed to: First Baptist Church of Universal City, 1401 Pat Booker Road, Universal City, Texas 78148. Memo: “LAMB Children’s Ministry in honor of Doris Frye”.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.colonialuniversal.com for the Frye family.
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