William Frye

Frye, William Arthur

William Arthur Frye, 96, of Oakwood, Ohio, passed away on December 26, 2023. Bill was born on June 13, 1927 to Arthur and Edith (Scott) Frye in Des Moines,Iowa. He served in the U.S. Army from 1945 to 1947, including six months with the Army of Occupation in Yokohama, Japan. There, he supervised Japanese workers in an Army warehouse. He learned to speak some Japanese and befriended a number of the workers. Following his military service, Bill returned to Des Moines and married his high school sweetheart, Mary Martha Hansen. He earned a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Iowa State College "on the G.I. Bill." Bill and Mary moved to Dayton, Ohio so he could begin work as an engineer for the Inland Division of General Motors. He worked for GM for 39 years, becoming a Registered Professional Engineer and serving in various management roles. In 1964, Bill was awarded a prestigious Sloan Fellowship to obtain a Master's in Industrial Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Bill held several patents, wrote the chapter on "Rubber Springs" in the Shock and Vibration Handbook, chaired the Dynamic Tests subcommittee of the Rubber Committee of the American Society for Testing and Materials, and represented the U.S.at meetings of the International Standards Organization in New York, London, Milan, and Stockholm. He was a past chairman of the Dayton sections of the Society of Automotive Engineers and the American Society for Quality Control. Bill fondly remembered the exciting "Mountain Runs," where they tested brake systems on the winding roads of Southeast Ohio and West Virginia. He recently wrote a history of Inland Manufacturing Division, "Inside Inland," which he provided to the Carillon Historical Park. Bill enjoyed fishing, woodworking, and working on cars. He loved creating or repairing all sorts of items for his home and for neighbors in need.Bill was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Pauline Schomburg, and Mary, his beloved wife of 66 years. He is survived by his son, Russell Frye, of McLean, VA; his daughter and son-in-law, Cynthia & Martin Eisen, of Miamisburg, OH; and granddaughters Jessica Eisen, Sarah Eisen, and Natalie Frye. The family will be holding a private service.