TUSCOLA – M. Ellen (Umbarger) Frye passed away on Tuesday (Jan. 12 2016) at Presence Covenant Medical Center in Urbana.
Ellen was born in Allerton on June 5, 1931, the daughter of Ernest and Ruth Umbarger. Having spent her childhood in Allerton and beginning at Allerton High School, she later moved to the Argenta area. There she attended Argenta High School. In her senior year, in 1949, she was the school's homecoming queen.
One quiet day, a young man walked to the back of the school bus to talk to her. This young man was Orville (Toby) Frye. Ellen and Orville were married soon after, on May 19, 1951. Together, they moved to Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, while he was in the Army. While there, she worked as a secretary in the financial office.
When Orville's term of service ended, he and Ellen returned to Tuscola, where they worked and raised their three sons, Jerry, Randy and Tim. While the boys were growing up, their mother lived for Little League, whatever level the boys were playing at the time. Over the years, Ellen held several jobs: as a waitress at the Brookside Cafe, as the church secretary for First Christian Church of Tuscola and for the Tuscola School District. Her favorite position, though, was helping out with the family's golf shop, O' Pro Shop, which the family ran for about 20 years in downtown Tuscola and at Ironhorse Golf Course.
All who knew Ellen will remember her as an avid golfer. She played in several women's leagues in the area, including at Kaskaskia Country Club and Ironhorse Golf Course. She was a former club champion at Tri City Country Club in Villa Grove and even had a hole-in-one at her favorite course, Quail Creek Country Club in Robinson.
"Granny" especially cherished her eight grandchildren, John, Jason, Ross, Jenna, Katie, Laura, Anna and David; her two step-grandsons, Matthew and Steve Friend; and her four Frye great-grandsons, Cohen, Sullivan, Simon and Clark. She loved attending as many of their school and sporting activities as possible, always showering them with encouragement and cheering them on from the sidelines.
Ellen is survived by her husband of 64 years, Orville (Toby) Frye; her sons, Jerry (Priscilla Kron) Frye, Randy (Kathy) Frye and Tim (Pam) Frye. She is also survived by three sisters, Jean Emrick, Ann Perry and Shirley Stout. She was preceded in death by her parents and two brothers. Ellen will be dearly missed and fondly remembered by her family and all those who had the joy of knowing her.
Services celebrating her life will be at 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016, at Hilligoss Shrader Funeral Home, 705 S. Main St., Tuscola. Visitation will be two hours prior to the services at the funeral home.
In lieu of other expressions of sympathy, the family would appreciate donations to Ellen's favorite charity, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital at www.stjude.org or to the hospital at 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.
Condolences may be offered online at www.hilligossshraderfh.com.
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