Neil was a unique and caring man that touched the lives of all who knew him and is missed and will always be cherished. Mr. Fry as he liked to be called, was an amazing husband, father, brother, uncle, and grandpa and a teller of a good story like no other.

 

Neil’s story starts in 1947, the second oldest child to Dorothy and Clarence Fry. Neil was born in Winnipeg, MB and spent most of his childhood with his siblings Lorraine, Brad, and Glynis wandering the streets of Crescentwood making lifelong friends and talking to anyone who would listen.

 

Neil loved to tell stories and you could be sure that 50% of them were true – you were just never sure which 50%, but they were 100% awesome.

 

While in high school Neil developed a love of music and became the DJ for his school dances, endless socializing and enjoyment of life were always one of his greatest loves.

 

In 1967 Neil began working at Eaton’s catalogue building in the candy factory where he met the love of his life Gail. Their relationship began when Gail noticed him hanging from the rafter’s upside down and decided that his fun outlook on life would overshadow his bad cowboy boots and mustache. After double checking his age, she asked him to Sadie Hawkins and they were married without the Cowboy boots in 1970.

 

Neil loved to learn and try new things so when he first graduated he decided to take up Geological Engineering, after a summer in Flin Flon he quickly decided that wasn’t for him and to use his formidable math and people skills to pursue the exciting profession of Accounting.

 

Gail and Neil began their family a few short years after they were married and raised 2 loving daughters. As the girls grew family road trips became a tradition and exploring the world became an important experience for Neil to give to his daughters. Many memories were made on these trips, and many fights were had over the back, back of the station wagon. However, whether it was seeing the mountains for the first time, exploring caves, visiting Yellowstone National Park, viewing Mount Rushmore, or experiencing the true wonder of Disney World, you could be sure that Neil would always get lost and never ever stop to ask for directions because it was always just a “short cut”.

 

Neil was renowned for his giving and selfless personality. All he ever wanted to do was help people and touched the lives of many. Part of that journey was his long time commitment to the Optimist Club of Assiniboia. He spent many years volunteering and created many more happy memories along the way including our yearly family tradition of freezing our butts off selling Christmas trees out of a trailer and hosting many pig roasts that ended with trees on fire in the backyard when the pig inevitably and predictably caught on fire.

 

In 1977, Neil graduated and became a Chartered Accountant and began his career at Sill Streuber Fiske and company. He quickly became a partner and remained on this path until his retirement from BDO Dunwoody in 2009. After a few years running the Sill Foundation he decided to continue his lifelong passion of helping people achieve their best with their business and took on the position of CFO at CT Rentals where the people he worked with quickly became like his extended family. He continued his “retirement” job at CT Rentals until just after he became ill.

 

Neil’s two greatest passions in life were golf and his grandson. His love affair with Golf started when joined Breezy Bend in 1984 and Gail was quickly made a golf widow. This sport allowed him to pursue his love of socializing, sport and community at the same time. He met many great friends and was very involved at the club for many years. The friendships he created and the time/contributions he participated in at the club were amongst his proudest moments and fondest memories.

 

In 2009 his other greatest love came to life; his grandson Cole was born. He was completely devoted to Cole and involved in every aspect of his life, even changing diapers (which he never did for his daughters). He was the best and most present Grandpa around and finally had someone who he could watch play hockey and teach to golf, mostly because his daughters never listened to him. They were partners in crime and in mischief and most of all shared so many laughs during all their great adventures over the years.

 

Loved ones that have cleared the path for Neil are his Father Clarence Douglas Haig Fry and his mother Dorothy Fry.

 

Loved ones that will miss Neil until they meet again are his wife Gail Fry; daughters Chantele Fry and  Nicole Fry (Brad Ewonchuk); grandson Cole Ewonchuk; sisters Loraine Bebee and Glynis Mckay (Malcolm); brother Brad Fry (April); many in-laws, nieces, nephews as well as his faithful pup Presley and Grand pup Socs.

 

A celebration of life will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 25 at the Breezy Bend Country Club, located at 7620 Roblin Blvd. Those attending are encouraged to wear bright colours.

 

In lieu of flowers, please direct any donations to the River View Health Centre. 

 

And so the story goes until we see you again Mr. Fry. We love you, miss you, and keep smiling.