Lloyd Thomas Fry

September 23, 1939 - January 12, 2023
In Loving Memory ~
Dad was irreplaceable. It has taken me a bit to collect my thoughts, as we all miss him so much already.
Lloyd Thomas Fry was born September 23rd, 1939, on his family's homestead, in the area of Darlingford, Manitoba. He was the fourth of five kids, Earl, Shirley, Al, and Murray. It seemed they moved around a bit, and partially grew up in Burnaby, B.C.
Dad's home life was rough and at the age of 13, he had lied about his age to get a job driving trucks for the City of Calgary. He married at age 19, and his beautiful daughter Cheryl and little redheaded son Miles were born to him in his early twenties. Their sweet baby girl Catherine didn't make it, and the young marriage didn't survive.
He made his way back to B.C. to work on the Mica Creek Dam project, where he met Candy French. He swept her off her feet with his dashing smile and they married on June 24th, 1967. They were together for over 54 years.
Some of their fondest memories were working up at the Queen Charlotte Islands where they enjoyed many adventures including beachcombing - where Dad lost Mom's car to the rising tide. After moving around a bit, they landed in Vernon in 1972, with me, their youngest daughter in tow. Dad was contracting and building houses.
It feels strange to write about Dad's life before his accident, I think because I only remember him after it. On June 17th, 1974, my parent's lives were utterly changed, with my Dad miscalculating a shallow dive into their backyard pool, and consequently crushing his spinal cord. They did not hold out much chance of his survival. They were wrong.
He survived and after some rehabilitation, they came back to Vernon to try to live again. He was now a quadriplegic. They realized that medical supplies were very hard to locate so they started up Okanagan Medical Supplies out of our basement.
Dad was a strong advocate and a masterful brainstormer for thousands living with disabilities. Many of his customers were still good friends into their golden years. After they sold, Dad worked at various businesses, taught himself AutoCAD and drew up designs for various projects. He loved to learn, and he was the BEST teacher.
Finally, he arrived back in accounting for others that needed help with caregivers (a Government program called CSIL which helps provide people with care aids so they can live independently)*.
He created invaluable systems that the CSIL and WCB programs still use to this day. He thrived best by making sure others were taken care of. He had a simple faith that God's ways were true, and he loved a good, sound sermon that made sense AND was less than twenty minutes.
He loved children and he was always thinking up some new adventure for any of us when we were still growing. Go-carts, rockets, horse riding, long drives in his van.....poetry contests...trips to the candy store, card games...and many more adventures were the order of the day when any of the nieces, nephews or grandkids were around! He made things so much fun!
After Mom died on January 7th, 2022, we all had the awesome privilege of taking care of this amazing man - but he really took care of us.
His health was a constant journey over the years. He was a true fighter. These past few months we were in and out of the hospital a lot, and the last time I took him in was to try to help him catch his breath.
Sadly, instead of getting to bring Dad home this time, his lungs failed. But never his heart. He had such a good heart. He left us on Thursday, January 12th, 2023, at 3:35 p.m. to join his Savior and his beloved wife. What a legacy. Thank you, Dad!
Dad was cremated and we will have a celebration of his life at 29th Street Centre on Saturday, April 29th, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. There is accessible parking and lunch so please come! It would really be precious to see you all.
Dad leaves behind his siblings, Shirley, Al, and Murray; his daughter, Cheryl, son, Miles, birth daughter, Carole and daughter, Tammy; together with all their families, whom he loved so much.
***If you or someone you love has had your life changed by an accident or disability, please know how valued you are and that your life is not over! Dad is such an incredible example of that! If you need any help getting on the CSIL program, his work is still family operated and can be found at www.bccommunitybookkeeping.com
Cremation arrangements were made with Bethel Funeral Chapel Ltd., 5605-27th Street, Vernon, B.C. V1T 8Z5
250-542-1187