Delsie May Fry

Delsie May Fry, formerly of Coshocton, passed away on March 4, 2026, at Burbank Parke Care Center at the age of 94.

Born on February 18, 1932, in her parents’ home in Coshocton, Delsie arrived shortly after her twin sister, Elsie, as an unexpected blessing to Thomas and Oleva (Smailes) Lane. The twins remained sisters and best friends throughout their lives. She graduated from Coshocton High School in 1950 and went on to attend White Cross Hospital School of Nursing in Columbus. After working at White Cross Hospital, she was personally recruited by Dr. Beecher Smith to join his medical office.

Delsie met her husband, Donald Dean Fry, when he was home on leave from the Navy to attend his brother Albert’s wedding to her sister Elsie. They married on June 8, 1956, and made their first home in Columbus before returning to Coshocton. There, Delsie worked as a registered nurse at Coshocton Memorial Hospital until her retirement in 1994. She and Don shared 69 years together.

She was the proud mother of five children: Steven (Jeanette) Fry, David (Tina) Fry, Jeffrey (Georgia) Fry, Lynn (Everett) Crosby, and Thomas (Kathrine) Fry. Delsie found her greatest joy in gathering her family around the kitchen table for coffee and conversation. She lovingly sewed quilts for her children and grandchildren, cherished traveling with Don—camping across the country in a pop-up trailer and later taking cruises to Alaska and the Caribbean as well as flying to Hawaii—and remained a faithful member of Roscoe United Methodist Church and its Phi Chi Class.

She is survived by her five children, nine grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Donald Fry; her parents, Thomas and Oleva Lane; her sister, Elsie Fry; and her brothers-in-law, Richard Fry and Tommy Fry.