Willard Fry Obituary

Fry, Willard

Willard A. (Bill) Fry, born July 23, 1933 in Evanston, IL, to George A. and Geraldine B. Fry, died April 30, 2025 in Wilmette, IL. He and his wife, Nancy, had three children and seven grandchildren.

Known as "Da" to his children, and "Dr. Fry" to his patients and many others, he was a dedicated son, husband, father, grandfather, father-in-law, friend, physician, teacher, and volunteer. He balanced commitment to his work as a surgeon, which gave him great satisfaction, with devotion to his family and friends, and his love of music, theater, French language and culture, food and wine, and sports.

He was raised in Kenilworth and worked for most of his professional life at Evanston Hospital, the same hospital where he was born. He and Nancy married in 1961, in Chicago, where they lived during their early years together. In 1966, they moved to Winnetka, where they raised their family. In 2013, they moved to the apartment in Wilmette that was their base for the remainder of their lives.

As a child, Bill often spent summers and holidays at his paternal grandparents' house and farm in Swayzee, Indiana – times he recalled fondly throughout his life.

He was proud of the schools he attended, from K-8 at Joseph Sears School, through high school at New Trier and Deerfield Academy, college at Yale, and medical school at Northwestern.

He had friends far and wide, including people he grew up with, classmates, colleagues, and others he got to know along the way. As a pre-med French major, he spent a summer in the Auvergne region of France through an Experiment in International Living program, forming a lifelong bond with his extended host family.

As Dr. Fry, he relished his service to patients and interactions with colleagues and trainees. Highlights of his professional life included surgical training at the University of Chicago; an academic appointment at Northwestern University Medical School, most recently as Professor Emeritus of Clinical Surgery, where he helped teach medical students and surgeons in training, and made many scholarly contributions; serving as chief of the thoracic surgery section at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, 1983-2000; coordinating the NUMS French Exchange program; and membership in and service to many professional organizations.

He served as a volunteer for the City of Chicago (as a Chicago Greeter, giving tours to French-speaking visitors); the Chicago Sister Cities International Program (Paris Committee); the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence; Presbyterian Homes; and the Yale Club of Chicago Tutoring Program.

His family remembers him for his constant love, support, and humor, his dedication to his work, his many other interests, and his overall zest for life. He possessed an uncanny skill for coining nicknames, and his lexicon of creative-and often idiosyncratic-expressions was legendary.

He was extremely grateful, and his family forever will be extremely grateful, to the people who helped care for him during his later years.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his sister, Janet Graham, and his wife of 57 years, Nancy McDougal Fry. He is survived by his children, Michael Fry, Peter Fry and Catherine (Kate) Kane, and their families. He donated his body to the Anatomical Gift Association, and his remains will be interred at Thrailkill Cemetery in Swayzee.

The family will notify friends of plans for a celebration of life. Donations in Dr. Fry's memory may be sent to the Respiratory Health Association (https://resphealth.org/support-us/tributes-memorials/).

Sign Guest Book at legacy.suntimes.com