Charles W. Frye In Memorium

My father, Charles W. Frye MD had been on kidney dialysis for the last year and a half. He had received a kidney transplant in February 2003. In October he went into the hospital very weak and with blood clots in his legs. His dialysis port had also clotted over. Following a poor prognosis from his doctors he decided to discontinue dialysis and let the kidney disease take its course. After two and a half weeks in hospice, he died on November 20, 2010. He was a great doctor and a marvelous father. I wrote this biographical sketch for his memorial service:

Charles was born on October 30, 1928 in Decatur, Illinois, to John and Opal (Beckett) Frye. They lived in a house overlooking Lake Decatur.

A formative event in his life occurred as a junior in high school. Suffering an injury during football practice, it eventually developed into osteomyelitis in his hip. He spent nearly a year in the hospital and did not graduate with his class. He persevered, however, graduating the following year. His fellow students voted him Salutatorian of the Decatur High class of 1947.

Charlie entered Millikin University in Decatur. During this time he demonstrated his gift for working with his hands by building a beautiful wood boat. His junior year he went on a blind date with Djina Champion. He graduated in 1951 from Millikin with a BS in Chemistry.

He entered graduate school at the University of Illinois-Champaign, but soon learned of a medical research position in Chicago and moved there to continue his graduate work at the University of Illinois-Chicago. At the same time, the courtship with Djina blossomed and they were married on August 22, 1953. Charlie had surgery to fuse his hip (a further consequence of the high school injury) in April 1953 and was still in a full body cast on their wedding day!

His research assistant job led to the design and creation of a prototype artificial respirator on their apartment kitchen table. He received a patent for it and sold the patent to a California company. Following graduate school, Charlie entered medical school at the University of Illinois-Chicago in September 1953.

Charlie graduated with his MD in 1957 and began his internship and residency at Presbyterian-St. Luke's Hospital in Chicago. Along with the demands of being an intern, Charlie and Djina began their family. Their first child, Randall, was born on July 22, 1957. Thirteen months later, their second son David was born on August 31, 1958. Son number three, Stephen, was born 20 months later on May 9, 1960. Through it all, with Djina's loving support, he successfully completed his medical training in June 1961 with a specialty in Radiology. He accepted a position with Associated Radiologists in St. Paul, MN.

The Fryes took up residence in South St. Paul, MN. There Charlie met some men in the neighborhood who shared his love for fishing. They made regular fishing trips into Canada for years afterward.

In September 1963 Charlie and Djina moved their family to Pheasant Lane in North Oaks. Toward the end of their stay on Pheasant Lane, Charlie and Djina learned they were expecting their fourth child. Thomas was born January 9, 1969. Charlie and Djina wanted to build their own home in North Oaks. They purchase some property that others had passed on and began building in late fall 1969. The family moved to their new home at 88 East Pleasant Lake Road in May 1970, their home to this day.

Charlie's career took a new direction during this time. He joined Minneapolis Radiation Oncology, focusing exclusively on treating patients with cancer. In 1984, he was made a Fellow of the American College of Radiology.

Charlie made his own distinctive mark on the East Pleasant Lake home. One of his great joys was to work in the yard with his tractor. He built several railroad tie retaining walls around the house. He and Djina also did extensive landscaping around their home.

Charlie poured a lot of attention into his kids and, eventually, his grandchildren. He was a very supportive father and father-in-law. As grandchildren came, he was a fun and generous grandfather.

In the fall of 2001, Charlie severely injured his leg while working in the yard. He developed an infection that led to kidney failure. After 15 months of dialysis treatments, Charlie received the gift of a kidney on February 6, 2003 from the family of a cancer patient. After the transplant, he enjoyed six years of good health. Through the summer of 2009 his transplanted kidney began to fail, and he had to resume dialysis. Declining health forced him to be hospitalized in October 2010. A poor prognosis led Charlie to the courageous decision of discontinuing his dialysis. He spent the last few weeks surrounded by the love of family and friends, and with Djina ever at his side. He died as he lived—with dignity, wit and humility. Charlie entered into the kingdom Christ prepared for him in the early hours of November 20, 2010.