LaRue V. Frye

LaRue V. Frye, 86, of Augusta, WV; Martinsburg, WV; and Washington, DC passed away on Thursday, March 27, 2025 at her beloved farm home located at McKee Hollow Road and Frye's Flat, near Augusta, WV.

Born at Little Capon Frye Farm in 1938, LaRue's life reads like a fascinating book. It has many Chapters. She was an internationally known expert on meetings and convention management; a real estate developer of historic properties; the restorer and operator of the Historic Boydville Plantation Inn & Estate in Martinsburg, WV; a prolific writer; a civic leader; a catalyst for creation of the Martinsburg Roundhouse Authority when Mayor Ernie Sparks appointed her Chairman of the Martinsburg Roundhouse Committee; a mentor to many; and an authentic and loving farm girl.
LaRue was very demanding of herself and had high standards. That said, she had a kind and caring heart for others and boosted many to successful careers and personal excellence.

She was a Life Member of the Berkeley County Historical Society and developer — along with her partner —Robert Boege, of the Faulkner House Mansion on S. Queen St. adjacent to Boydville. She also restored the Miles Store properties on E. Martin Street, and the Snodgrass Building and Merchant & Farmer's Bank Buildings on S. Queen Street in Martinsburg.

LaRue was also sole manager of properties located in Hampshire County, WV; Alexandria, VA, and Washington, DC under several companies she created.

As the Innkeeper at Boydville for 14 years, she made it the central hub for Martinsburg's social life, including many Weddings, Receptions, and Special Events like the Annual West Virginia Wine Harvest. She restored Boydville's Tenant House, Law Office and other outbuildings.

At its height of popularity, Boydville became a Mecca for Civil War tourism and attracted Governors, Senators and a cast of national political and show business visitors. She oversaw the making of several documentaries aimed at preserving to Boydville's heritage, including a focus on General Elijah Boyd, Hero of the War of 1812, and his son-in-law Charles Faulkner, who served as the U.S. Ambassador to France until recalled by President Lincoln during the Civil War and held hostage in New York Harbor.

LaRue was a direct descendant of Heinrich (Henry) Frye, of Altdorf, Alsace who migrated to Germantown (Philadelphia) in 1680. As German-American pioneers and settlers moved southward and westward from Pennsylvania, her forbears settled in Frederick County, Virginia. They built the famous Frye Fort at Cedar Creek (South of present-day Winchester) that withstood the hostilities of the French & Indian War.

One ancestor, Jost Frye, protected a young George Washington who was surveying the Western Virginia frontier for Lord Fairfax. Among LaRue's prized possessions is the Frye & Jefferson Map of Virginia gifted to her. Another ancestor, Henry Frye, discovered the therapeutic values of the Capon Springs while bear hunting.

The Frye family eventually settled in what in now called Dutch Hollow near Wardensville (Hardy County) and her Great Grandfather, George Washington Frye, was a celebrated Cavalry Office during the War Between the States. He is buried in the Confederate Cemetery in Winchester.

LaRue was always precocious, disciplined, joyful and hard driving… she began school at the age of four and was mentored by her Aunt Edna Timbrook (an esteemed teacher for many years in Hampshire County schools) and several of her Shingleton aunts — including Norma Oates and Evelyn Lee on her mother's side. She was the Salutatorian of her Romney High School Class of 1956, and was also the "Y" in Romney High's Cheerleading Squad — an encore performance of which was always a highlight of the Romney Class of '56 Reunions.

As a child and young girl she worked her family farm with her father, Ira ("Ari") C. Frye, her mother, Viola Shingleton Frye, and her brother Joe Frye. She also helped with the various Shingleton Family Orchards run by her Grandfather, Jesse H. Shingleton and her grandmother Nettie Virginia Shawen Shingleton and the Oates Brothers' Orchards.

She worked her way through college, waitressing at the Green Lantern near Capon Bridge and then summer jobs in Atlantic City. LaRue received degrees in teaching from Potomac State College and then Marshall University. She began teaching at Romney High for several years. Along with her first husband, Larry Peters, they moved to Petersburg and then on to the Northern Virginia Area for career advancement.

LaRue switched career paths while in the D.C. area and was hired as one of the first female executives at the U.S Chamber of Commerce in the early 1960's. She rose from an Executive Secretary to Director of the Institutes for Association Management, a national program for chambers of commerce and organization management for nonprofits in the mid 1960's.

Later hired by the National Association of Homebuilders in Washington, DC, LaRue perfected her skills in association management and was later hired as Director of Education for the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), the prestigious home for major trade and professional society CEO's and Staff under the dynamic leadership of James P. Low.

After advancements and reorganizations at ASAE, LaRue became internationally known for her role as ASAE's Director of Meetings and Conventions. Working with expert volunteers, LaRue oversaw development of a professional certification and recognition program for Certified Meeting Planners while at ASAE and transitioned from ASAE into managing a cross-industry group called the Convention Liaison Council (CLC) for many years.

While at CLC, LaRue spearheaded efforts to measure and educate policy makers about the economic importance of the Meetings and Conventions industry. Taken as a system, this meant identifying and measuring the economic impact of tourism, conventions, hospitality, travel, educational programming, hotel and motel accommodations, restaurants, transportation and so many other factors that make the meetings industry a multi-billion dollar slice of our economy.

Recognized as a leader in the Meetings and Conventions industry, LaRue received various honorary titles and distinctions. She was awarded a plaque that hangs in Chicago's McCormick Place as one of the industry's "Hall of Leaders" upon her retirement in 1997.

More chapters are found in LaRue's Book of Life than can be described here. In addition to managing historic restoration projects, she wrote short stories about Virginia's history from the frontier and Colonial Period up until the Civil War.

Projects that LaRue completed include the Charles Faulkner House on S. Queen St. in Martinsburg, as well as the Snodgrass/Baker Building, the Miles Store and two row houses on E. Martin Street near the famous Martinsburg Railroad Depot and Roundhouse Complex.

LaRue is survived by her spouse of 42 years and business partner, Robert Spurrier Boege; Brother Joseph Frye, Nephew William Calvin Frye (Jody), Niece Amber Dawn Frye, Great-Nephew Easton Frye, Great-Niece Madynn Frye, and numerous cousins from the Shingleton and Frye Families.

Individuals who recently aided her efforts include Jerami Northcraft, Cole Pritts, Billy Ray Smith, Greg Haines, Hoy Shingleton, Chuck Hinton, Elaine Mauck, Ellie & Doug Masters, Martha Ann and Lane McIntosh, Saundra Pearson, Sabrina Pearson, Susan Sarfati, Debra Stratton, Lisa Myers, Glen Delaplain, Beth Oates Walsh, Bob Walters, Pumpkin Oates, Craig See, and Hospice of the Eastern Panhandle in Kearneysville.
LaRue's favorite charities included Boys Town, the Omaha Home for Boys, Colonial Williamsburg, the Berkeley County Historical Society, the Audubon Society, Hospice of the Eastern Panhandle, and the First Presbyterian Church of Martinsburg.

A Celebration of LaRue's Life will be announced soon.

All arrangements are being handled by McKee Funeral Home, Augusta, WV.