Perry Ayscue Frye, 87, of Galax, passed away Friday, January 21, at his home surrounded by family, friends, and his Gambetti cat, Maggie.

He was born on June 28, 1923, in Carthage, North Carolina, and named after two preachers, a Baptist and a Presbyterian. He was the third of three sons to Annie, a devoted practical nurse, and Carlos Frye, a carpenter.

After his father's early death, the good people of Carthage helped raise the scrappy, curly headed boy his father called "Skin." He picked cotton and worked the tobacco fields to help his family survive the depression years.

But Perry had a gift that quickly led him beyond the sand hills of Moore County. He was a natural born athlete, and while still a young boy, began playing baseball for an American Legion team in Troy. Because of his talent and tenacity on the basketball court and baseball field, he was recruited by Campbell College before he finished high school.

After two years at Campbell, he was drafted into the army and served as an instructor for a Special Service Training Unit at Fort Bragg. He also spent two years as a physical training instructor at Camp Lee, Virginia. At Camp Lee, he had the opportunity to play on the US Army baseball team with pros from the major leagues.

He loved a good team. He loved to win. And he loved his hometown sweetheart, Nell and her dear mother, Mama Nell, who he called "the best friend I ever had."

Nell and Perry married in 1947.

An athletic scholarship and the G.I. Bill led Perry to Virginia Tech, a decision that forever changed his life. Perry played basketball and baseball at Tech and coached freshman baseball. Those happy years spawned some of his greatest stories. One of his favorites was how in his first class at VPI, he struck up a conversation with another freshman, Jack Guynn. That conversation led to a friendship that brought the Frye family to Galax where, in Perry's words, he met the "best people in the world."

He drove an ambulance for Vaughan -Guynn Funeral Home before going to work for Vaughan Furniture Company. The same leadership qualities that made Perry a great coach served him well as National Sales Manager for Vaughan. During Perry's forty six year tenure, the company hit many milestones. He traveled the country but said he never saw any place as beautiful as Southwest Virginia. The mountains were a natural fit for a man whose optimistic outlook and boundless energy required great heights and wide expanses.

Known for his western hats and boots, he was every bit the cowboy riding the ridges of Mount Rogers and taking his family on week-long wagon trains. He also embraced bluegrass mountain music and tried his best to master the claw-hammer banjo.

Although he never excelled on the banjo, the golf course was a different story. With his competitive spirit, he won many local tournaments. He shot his age at seventy and multiple times thereafter.

Perry was a proud husband, father and grandfather who always kept on the sunny side when singing the praises of his family.. He was a proud Democrat and an outspoken advocate of the working man. Perry had strong opinions and at the end of the day was more right than wrong. He often ended a debate with his signature phrase, "that's just the way it is". Perry lived full tilt and turned impatience into a virtue. He considered himself a lucky man.

Perry is survived by Nell, his wife of sixty-two years. Two daughters, Annelle Williams and her husband, Doug ; Patti Meredith and her husband, Lee; two grandchildren--Douglas Williams and his wife, Telisha; and Becki Vasquez, and her husband, Andres. Perry was also blessed with two children of the heart, Scott Frye and Alice Leon. And, if Perry read this, he'd say, "Put something in there about all the good friends I have because I'm telling you, there aren't any better people in the world than the ones you'll find in Southwest Virginia."

Visitation will be from six to eight Saturday evening (Jan 22, 2011) at Vaughan-Guynn Funeral Home. Services will be held at two o'clock at First Baptist Church of Galax Sunday. The body will lie in state from one to two at the church on Sunday.
The family request in lieu of flowers donation should be made to
Joy Ranch Home for Children, 813 Joy Ranch Road, Woodlawn, VA 24381