Susan M. Frey

Susan (Sue) Mae Frey peacefully passed away in her sleep on Sunday, May 12, 2013, at her home in Corvallis, after a decade-long battle with cancer. Sue was born on Nov. 23, 1953, in Gary, Ind., the daughter of Richard John Frey and Elizabeth Jean Rose Frey, and she grew up in Hobart, Ind. She grew up helping her parents run their family business, Frey’s Dairy Queen, which three of her brothers still run today. She grew up playing softball, playing the drums, reading mystery novels, and participating in 4-H, where she developed a love of baking, sewing and cross-stitch. Her mother taught her to draw and paint, and she then taught her own daughter everything she knew about arts and crafts. Sue graduated as valedictorian of Hobart Senior High School in 1972. When she discovered in college that she had an aptitude for engineering, and especially after learning that, at the time, engineering was something women didn’t do, she decided that was what she would pursue. She graduated from Purdue University in 1977 with a master’s degree in civil engineering. Later that year, she was hired as a structural engineer at CH2M Hill in Corvallis, where she spent her entire career designing everything from concrete water storage reservoirs and wastewater treatment plants to performing arts centers. She was one of the first women engineers at the company. She absolutely loved being an engineer; she loved her work and her colleagues. She was known as a tremendous mentor, both for junior staff and for advanced technical excellence, across the firm, through her role as structural engineering global technology leader. Purdue University honored her with the Civil Engineering Alumni Achievement Award in 2005. In 2010, she won the CH2M Hill CEO Excellence Award in the category of respect. She also contributed her time to many national and international professional societies, helping to advance the improvement and refinement of building codes and design practices through the Masonry Society, the Structural Engineers Association of Oregon, the American Concrete Association and the National Council of Structural Engineers Association. She was an adjunct professor for design of masonry structures at Oregon State University, and was a masonry seminar and webinar instructor for the Northwest Concrete Masonry Association. She recently was appointed by the governor as a member of the Oregon State Board of Examiners of Engineering and Land Surveying. Sue met Richard Charles Frankenfield, originally of Lawrence, Kan., and currently of Corvallis, on a school bus taking the CH2M Hill staff on a ski trip in 1978. Although it took Rich nearly two years to convince Sue that he was in love with her and wanted to marry her, she eventually got the message, and they were married in 1980 by Sue’s cousin and priest, Richard Frey. They were happily married for nearly 33 years. Two years after they were married, Sue and Rich lived and worked in Alexandria, Egypt for 15 months. Sue and Rich have two children, Jamie Katherine Frey-Frankenfield of Sherwood, who is a high school Spanish, English language development and choir teacher, and Patrick Richard Frey-Frankenfield of Lawrence, who is studying sports management and accounting. Sue raised her children to be loving, strong, passionate and independent, and was very proud of all their accomplishments. Sue had many hobbies and interests. She loved gardening, reading, arts and crafts, softball, aerobic dancing, watching OSU Beavers gymnastics and television with her family, and listening to jazz music. She was an active member of St. Mary’s Catholic Parish. She also loved cats and dogs, and had many over her lifetime. Sue had a large circle of family and friends who cared about her deeply. She passed away knowing that she was truly loved. In addition to her husband and children, Sue is survived by her four younger brothers, William Henry Frey of Crown Point, Ind., and his wife, Merrilee, Clayton John Frey of Merrillville, Ind., and his wife, Carol, Scott Allen Frey of Hobart and his wife, Penny, and Patrick Richard Frey of Valparaiso, Ind., and his wife, Lisa; along with 15 nieces and nephews, and five great-nieces and -nephews. A celebration of life is tentatively scheduled for July 12 at CH2M Hill. A funeral Mass is tentatively set for July 13 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. The family suggests memorial contributions be made either to the Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation Survivorship Fund, 3600 N.W. Samaritan Drive, Corvallis, OR 97330, phone 541-768-4256; or to the Susan M. Frey Civil Engineering Scholarship Fund, Purdue University, 403 W. Wood St., West Lafayette, IN 47907-2007.

Tributes

Susan M. Frey

November 23, 1953 - May 12, 2013