James W. Frey
ROXBURY–James W. Frey, 87, passed away peacefully at Maplewood of Sauk Prairie Health and Rehabilitation Center in Sauk City on Oct. 15, 2022.
He was born in Roxbury on Feb. 4, 1935 to George J. Frey and his wife Anna R. (Lochner) Frey, who were married on May 23, 1929. James graduated in 1953 from Sauk City High School, where he participated in baseball, basketball, football, and was on the sophomore year homecoming and junior year prom courts.
James served in the United States Army at Fort Rucker in Daleville, Alabama where he was a crew chief responsible for testing helicopters, which were experimental at the time. After his military service, he was proud to have operated road construction equipment building new roads and airport runways across Wisconsin in the 1960s. James was employed at Ace Hardware and later at Dischler Heating and Cooling in Prairie du Sac for 50 years as a heating and air conditioning technician where he retired in 1997.
James was united in marriage to Sybilla “Billie” Adler on Aug. 27, 1960 at Saint Bernard Catholic Church in Middleton. They made their home in Roxbury, Wis. for over 60 years.
James was a huge sports fan with unwavering devotion to the Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Brewers, and the UW-Madison Badgers (even in the 1970s!). He enjoyed woodworking projects in his garage, including making a desk, end tables, a miniature cabin with a tiny functioning fireplace, an airplane weathervane with a spinning prop, a lighthouse fountain, picture frames for the many puzzles he assembled, along with many woodworking projects for others who requested his craft.
In later years, he really enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who always made him light up with joy. James will be remembered as a loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle, and friend. His sense of humor and the sounds of his tinkering on projects in the garage will be missed.
He is survived by his wife Sybilla; his three children: Lisa (James) Breunig, Scott (Peggy) Frey, and Paul Frey; his cherished grandchildren: Nikki (Tommy) Bushman, Stephanie Frey (James Lemke), Brandon (Shari) Lang, Dustin (Shayna) Lang, Brittany (Jake) Rusch, and Aaron (Jenny) Frey; his five great-grandchildren: Griffin, Lucy, and Eleanor Rusch, Ruby Frey, and Jack White; and his siblings, Bernard “Dick”, David (Judy); his brothers in law, Art (Helen) Adler, and Ken Adler; his sisters-in-law, Rita, Carol, Irene, Sandy, Nancy (Paul) Parrinello; and other relatives.
He was preceded in death by his parents, George (Feb. 5, 1978) and Anna (Aug. 20, 2003) Frey; his siblings, Harold “Nick” (Phyllis), Matilda “Tooty” (Charles) Schepp, Phillip, Howard, Roman, Ralph and George (Barbara) Frey, Jr; his sisters-in-law, Catherine (Lee) Purdy, and Dolores Odelia "Lolly" Frey; and father-in-law and mother-in-law, Ray and Sally Adler.
James’ family would like to thank the incredible staff at Maplewood Assisted Living and Maplewood Memory Care for their exceptional care and compassion. A special thank you to Patty from Wisconsin Senior Care-Home Instead for the time she spent with James, including the assembly of a memory booklet and her assistance in transitioning James to Maplewood Assisted Living.
A Mass of Christian Burial was held at 11 a.m. on Oct. 21, 2022 at St. Norbert’s Catholic Church in Roxbury. Prior to the mass, the family greeted mourners from 9-10:45 a.m. at the Hooverson Funeral Home, 251 Water Street, Sauk City, which served the family. Interment followed the Mass at the Roxbury Catholic Cemetery with military honors accorded by Lachmund-Cramer Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 7694, Prairie du Sac, followed by a meal at the Dorf Haus supper club in Roxbury.
Memorials may be made in James Frey's name to the Alzheimer's Association of Greater Wisconsin, 6314 Odana Rd., Suite 4, Madison, WI, 53719.
