George Frye

George Frye, 79, Mandan, joined his parents, brothers, and sister in Heaven on July 14, 2023 after a courageous battle of lung cancer.

A funeral service will be held at 10:30 am on Thursday, July 20, 2023 at St. Joseph’s Church, Mandan, with Father Josh Waltz as celebrant. Burial will be at the Union Cemetery, Mandan.

Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 pm on Wednesday, July 19, 2023 at Weigel Funeral Home, Mandan, with a prayer service at 7 pm. Visitation will continue one hour prior to the service at the church on Thursday.

George was born December 20, 1943 in Harvey, ND to Jacob (Jake) and Barbara (Hager) Frye, he was the oldest of his four siblings.  George attended a country school outside of Harvey, until the family moved into town where he then attended a catholic school with the completion of high school.  In 1961, George joined the North Dakota Army National Guard where he served until 1967 when he was honorably discharged.  A dedicated family man, George made sure his parents and siblings were well cared for as he bought and remodeled a home for them in Harvey; creating a place of rest and fellowship, get togethers for the holidays and deer hunting trips.  George continued to lend a hand for many years to his younger siblings as they adventured into their own lives with families, and his generosity carried on when he had a family of his own.

George met the love of his life Sharon Fossen and they married August 11, 1972.  With the start of a long wonderful life together they welcomed three boys, Richard, Ryan, and Jason.  George made a living by driving truck for Dan Dugan, Northern Tank, and Farstad Oil for 41 years.  There was still plenty of time to spend with Sharon and the boys while they took trips to South Dakota, camping trips to their favorite spots, and plenty of fishing and hunting.  After George retired in 2008 you could find him in the backyard relaxing in a chair under a shaded tree listening to his favorite station, KBMR.  With a little old time country music in the background, George’s beautiful green luscious grass filled the perfect picture to a little slice of heaven which also included a perfectly planted garden, flowers all around the yard, not to mention the 5 bird houses he built for each of his grandkids.  When George was not relaxing in his beautiful back yard, you would find him on the walking path walking Molly their dog, watching his favorite western show on both the kitchen and living room tv’s.  with George’s background in truck driving, it was no big deal for him and Sharon to jump in the car and head out to Medora for the Musical, see the black hills of South Dakota, drive through Yellowstone, and visit their sons in Colorado and Nebraska.  George even made a trip out to Las Vegas and Grand Canyon WITH Sharon and the boys.  He jumped at every opportunity to go out hunting and fishing.  George was always ready for his annual deer hunting trip up to Maddock with the boys every year.  He got to be quite the sharp shooter with his bow, even tagging a few turkeys.  He also had a love for fishing ever since the boys were little, he would make many trips up to the big lake for fishing, in the boat with family on the river, dabbled a little with fly fishing in Colorado, and was game to head out on the ice to pull in some perch during the winter months.  George was a true man of faith; he was a member of St. Joseph’s Catholic church for fifty plus years.  His greatest joy came when he became a grandpa/Papa to Kohen, Cayden, Lucas, Quinn, and Blakely.  His peaceful little slice of Heaven in the backyard started to fill up with little feet running bare foot in the grass, swing sets, pools, balls, trucks, and LOTS of LOVE and LAUGHTER.

Blessed beyond measure to have shared his life and legacy is his sweetheart Sharon, his children and grandchildren, Richard, Mandan, Ryan, Miranda, Cayden and Lucas, Dexter, MI, Jason, Phobe, Kohen, Quinn, and Blakely, Mandan, along with Molly their dog. And sister-in-law Shirley Frye, Mandan.

George is proceeded in death by his parents, brothers, and sister-in-law, Wendelin (Denise) Frye, William Frye, Eugene Frye, and sister and brother-in-law Caroline (Ted) Conner and special friend Leon Seefeld.

Thank you to the Sanford Cancer team and Cancer Center in Bismarck for their loving care of George during his cancer fight.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Joseph Catholic Church.