Merwin Frey

Merwin "Mern" Frey will be remembered fondly by those who knew him. Husband, dad, Yeye, brother, uncle, friend, professor, microbiologist, innovator and waffle-maker are some of the roles for which he is most warmly remembered. Mern passed away peacefully in a Massachusetts hospice with family at his side on October 9, 2023.

Mern was the second child of Lester and Rachel (Herley) Frey, followed quickly by twin brother Mart, both born on April 20, 1932, in Manhattan, Kansas. They spent their childhood "arm and arm around the farm," continuing a long line of Frey dairy farmers. Mern's memories of this time include large family meals, picnics in the pasture, lemonade breaks while bailing hay, and outings for cherry ice cream.

After graduating from Manhattan High School in 1949, Mern attended Kansas State University, earning both a bachelor's degree in dairy husbandry and a DVM in 1956. He spent the following two years as an Air Force food inspector stationed in England, exploring Europe's ski slopes on breaks, and developing his lifelong love of orange marmalade.

After returning to the U.S., Mern spent a year in the Nebraska sandhills as a large animal veterinarian before accepting an assistantship to study a rare infection in cattle at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. There he met Jo (Shuman), his future bride, earned a PhD, and cheered on the Packers.

Mern and Jo began 59 years of married life on June 24, 1961, in El Paso, IL. Later that year, they moved from Madison to Ames, IA where their life was enhanced by great friends and the addition of two children, David and Jeanne. Mern's career took them throughout the then "Big Eight," first to Stillwater, OK and the veterinary school at Oklahoma State (1973-1977), then to Lincoln, NE and the veterinary science department at University of Nebraska (1977-1990) and finally back to those great friends and colleagues in Iowa as the head of a section of the Diagnostic Virology Laboratory at the National Veterinary Services Laboratory. At each of these stops, family life was deeply enriched through ties to university campuses and sporting events. After retirement, Mern and Jo remained in Story City until 2016 when they moved to Estes Park, CO to enjoy their last years together with a gorgeous view of the Rocky Mountains from their living room. After Jo's death in 2020, Mern remained in Colorado for a year before joining his children in Massachusetts for his final years.

Mern loved travel and ventured to many places, including Central and South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Fishing, camping, hiking, even piloting a plane, were intermittent hobbies. He enjoyed telling a story and would take hours to make sure you knew every detail of it. He valued technology and was one of the first to own a home computer and VCR, though he also leaves behind many printers that refused to work for him. He was famous for brokering bad financial deals with his children, where they would always come out ahead. He was caring and gentle and loved his grandchildren most of all.

Mern is survived by his children David Frey (Helen Cheng) of Brookline, MA, and Jeanne Frey (Amanda Graveline) of Watertown, MA, brother Mart (Demarious) of Corpus Christi, TX, grandkids Kyla, Kerry and Connor as well as numerous cousins, nieces and nephews and their families. A memorial service will be held at a later date in Estes Park, CO. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Mern's name to the Rocky Mountain Conservancy (https://rmconservancy.org/join-or-give/donate/).