Laverne Douglas Frye 1931-2017

Laverne Douglas Frye was born January 26, 1931 in Spencer, Iowa and died at his home in Long Beach, California on April 14, 2017.

He never liked his first name and always went by Douglas.  He had 3 siblings, Dorothy, Helen, and Margaret who have all preceded him.

Douglas was a very proud veteran who joined the United States Navy  in August  of 1949 after graduating High School.  He was on the destroyer USS DeHaven DD-727 where he served during the Korean war.  His ventures took him to many countries including Japan.  He was honorably discharged in August of 1953.  He had many stories to tell and loved to tell them over and over.

Three years later, he married Barbara Ann Seeley, on August 4, 1956. They had two  daughters, Bobette Anne and Becky Jo.  Douglas worked in the aerospace industry and retired from McDonnell Douglas which later became Boeing.  Barbara passed away on June 21, 2001.

Douglas lived with his daughters for many years.  He always had to have a project to work on.  He loved gardening or, "digging in the dirt" as he called it and going out to dinner.  A few days prior to his passing, Douglas had planted two plum trees that he had grown from seed and was in the process of digging a hole to plant another tree.

Douglas played many different stringed instruments and he had quite the collection.  You could hear him once in a while playing and singing in his room when he thought he was alone.  He also played he harmonica on occasion.  In his spare time he like getting e-mails on his computer and posts from his Facebook friends.  He also liked to watch Fox News but was a chronic channel surfer most of time.

He had a quick wit and loved to tease.  When he got caught doing something he should not have, he would blame the cat.  Once when he spilled his coffee on the floor, he claimed the dog we were dog sitting for a neighbor,  peed on the floor.