“Life is not fair, get over it!” Lois Ann Frye Smith said goodbye to her earthly existence, after passing the century mark on Feb. 7, and crossed over to the other side on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Saying until we meet again to her six children, Steve Frye (Beth Blacker), Tim Frye, Kristin Kavanagh (Bill), Lisa Dawson (Tony), Melissa Case (Larry), and Erik Frye (Sheila), 11 grandkids, and 13 great-grandchildren.
Education was always important to Lois Ann and her five siblings growing up on their South Dakota farm. She started teaching at 16 and continued her higher education graduating magna cum laude from St. Olaf College. Her education career continued throughout her life at different school districts in the Twin Cities as both a teacher and administrator, then in retirement helping new citizens.
She was drawn to Montana with her sisters, working at Lake McDonald Lodge, where she met her first husband, Rodd Frye. This love for Glacier continued as the family grew and enjoyed summers at different ranger stations on Lake McDonald. The love for Montana lives on in her children and future generations who live here and regularly visit the Crown of the Continent.
Mom was a traveler, especially with her second husband, Marv Smith and her longtime friend, Bobby Castren. A special journey was traveling with her siblings and spouses to their family roots in Norway; from Europe and Scandinavia to the pyramids in Egypt, even riding an elephant and bamboo raft in Thailand, Lois Ann experienced and lived a full life!
She enjoyed the daily newspaper crossword puzzle, completing it in ink well into her 90s.
Covid isolation took its toll on Lois Ann with the onset of dementia. Though as that nasty disease robbed Lois Ann of her memory, she still recognized her children and enjoyed visits from her grand and great-grandkids and pictures of “her babies!” Mom spent the last three years in the Footsteps Memory Care of the Springs, and the family expresses our thanks for the loving attention and care of the staff there.
If you feel inclined to honor Lois Ann with a donation, please consider the Glacier Conservancy or the charity of your choice. A memorial for Lois Ann will be held later.