Nell Reid Frye, 89, passed away peacefully December 12 at her home in Martinsville, Virginia. She was born June 2, 1925, in Carthage, North Carolina. Nell was preceded in death by the love of her life, Perry, her sweet mother Nell Dunn Flinchum, and father, Reid Flinchum.

She grew up in Carthage, North Carolina, attended Elon College, and married Perry in 1947, while he was a student at Virginia Tech. After he graduated, they moved to Galax and made southwest Virginia their home.

Nell was active in the Hoe and Hope Garden Club where she won many ribbons for flower arranging and took pride in doing seasonal decorating at the First Baptist Church. She enjoyed her bridge club, the Ladies Golf Association, and was also a hospital auxiliary volunteer. She had a wide circle of friends, hardly met a stranger, and always appreciated their good stories. She was a fierce defender of her kin and personified her home state motto: To be rather than to seem. Nell pulled no punches. We will miss her laughter and generous heart.

She loved her mother, Perry, her girls, her Susie-kitty, chocolate, and time spent with her sister, Leigh, and their many friends in Myrtle Beach. Nell's old friends, particularly the ones she left in Galax, were dear to her. In Martinsville, it was her great grandson Lucas, who brightened her days. The family would also like to thank her wonderful caregivers, "Nell's Belles."

Survivors include her daughter and husband, Annelle and Doug Williams of Martinsville; daughter and husband, Patti and Lee Meredith of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; grandson and wife, Douglas and Telisha Williams of Nashville, Tennessee; and granddaughter and husband Becki and Andres Vasquez of Martinsville; and great grandson, Lucas Vasquez; a sister, Leigh O'Callahan of Pine Bluff, N.C.; a niece, Callie Ann Smith, and nephew, Mike O'Callahan.

The funeral service will be held Monday, December 15, 2014 at 11:00 AM at the Frist Baptist Church, 1024 East Stuart Drive, Galax, Virginia with Pastor Sam Bartlett. Interment will follow in the Felts Memorial Cemetery, 846 Glendale Road, Galax, Virginia. The family will receive friends from 10:00 AM until service time at the church.