Dr. Maureen Jane Frikke

Dr. Maureen Jane Frikke 1948 ~ 2008 Dr. Maureen Jane Frikke, beloved daughter, sister, aunt, great aunt, friend, colleague, neighbor and loving mother of dogs and cats, passed away on March 22, 2008, at her home, following an eight-year battle with breast cancer that metastasized to her liver.Maureen was born on October 19, 1948, to Henry J. and Caroline L. (Eddy) Frikke, in Willmar, Minnesota. She joined a family of three older sisters. A fifth daughter was born three and a half years later to complete the family of five girls. She attended public schools in Clara City, Minnesota, where she graduated from high school in 1966. She was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in zoology, with a minor in chemistry, by the University of Minnesota, Duluth, in 1969. Her education continued at the School of Medicine, Washington University at St. Louis, Missouri, where she earned a Ph.D. in Experimental Pathology in 1976. Funded by the National Cancer Institute, Maureen did post-doctoral work as a Senior Research Fellow at the Oregon Regional Primate Center in Beaverton, Oregon, from 1976-1979. Her research involved the extraction, isolation and characterization of antigens from mouse melanoma tumors and the enhancement of tumor-specific cell-mediated immunity using chemically modified tumor antigens. From 1979-1983, she held the position of Research Assistant Professor of Pathology at the School of Medicine, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, Oregon, where she was involved in the education of medical students, house staff and graduate students. She established a program directed toward improved understanding of the immune system and the utilization of immunologic techniques as an aid in diagnosis. Her research there was funded by the National Institute of Health and the Medical Research Foundation of Oregon. In 1983 Maureen became a student once again, this time in medical school. She was awarded the Doctor of Medicine degree in 1986 by the School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. She completed residencies in Clinical and Anatomic Pathology at Shands Hospital, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida (1986-90) and a fellowship in Forensic Pathology at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota (1990-1991). She was Board Certified in all three pathology specialties. She joined the Office of the Medical Examiner, State of Utah, Salt Lake City, in 1991 as an Assistant Medical Examiner, a position she held until her death. During this time she performed nearly 7,000 death examinations and testified in hundreds of trials and murder cases. Maureen's work with the Office of the Medical Examiner was only one way in which she demonstrated her compassion and unique gift of helping others. She was very involved with the Adopt a Native Elder program, which began as a means to help elderly Navajo weavers to support themselves and has since expanded to include delivering donated food, clothing, wool and supplies to elderly Navajos and school supplies for children. The organization sponsors an annual rug show where elderly weavers, silversmiths and jewelers bring their wares to be displayed and sold. Maureen was an avid Navajo rug and Zuni fetish collector. She was passionate about animal welfare and was a well-known figure, along with her three dogs, Sophie, Bear and Raider, at the local off-leash dog park enjoyed by many Salt Lake City human and canine residents. She also had a feline companion, Fleece. After her move to Utah, Maureen decided to utilize the many ski resorts in the nearby Wasatch Mountains in her exercise program. She not only learned to ski at the ripe old age of forty five, but soon became a fixture at the slopes during the ski season. She skied until just a few weeks before her death. An enthusiastic reader and gardener, Maureen established a wide circle of friends, many of whom visited her in her home to say their own farewells in the last week of her life. She leaves many friends and a large and loving family: sisters, Carol (David) Laube of Cedar Rapids, IA; Janis Hollenbeck of St. Paul, MN; Lois (Richard) Haag of Chippewa Falls, WI; and Beulah (Steven) Dye of Kennewick, WA; nephews, Jordan (Cecilia) Laube, Jason (Alison) Laube, Brendan Hollenbeck, Karlin Dye, Daniel Dye and niece Johnna Haag (Terry) Klein; great nephews and nieces, Taylor and Paul Laube, Jacob, Alexandra, Josephine and Elisabeth Laube, Bridger and Carson Klein. A private celebration of Maureen's life was held on March 25, 2008, in Salt Lake City. Memorials may be sent to Adopt a Native Elder, P.O. Box 3401, Park City, UT 84060, Millcreek F.I.D.O.S. (Friends Interested in Dogs and Open Space), P.O. Box 2215, Salt Lake City, UT 84118 or the YWCA of Salt Lake, 322 East 300 South, Salt Lake City, UT 84111, for programs that aid battered women and children.