City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation
Obituary
Lieutenant Colonel Robert Lee Fry
Fuquay Varina, North Carolina
Age 91.
Died 11/09/2023.
Born June 6, 1932, in Wyoming, Illinois, Robert was the son of shopkeepers Marine Sgt. John Howard and Helen Fry. Robert enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1951, and was soon selected for training at the Marine Corps Officer Candidates School in 1953, where he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant.
On August 31, 1957, Robert “Bob” married his great love, Ann Norris, of Philadelphia, and they remained happily married for 63 years before Ann’s passing in 2020. Along with their first-born daughter Lee Ann, they raised two sons, John and Christopher.
A veteran of the Korean War and Vietnam War, Lt. Col. Fry retired from his Marine Corps in July of 1978. His final posting was at Camp Lejeune as Base Special Services Officer.
In September of 1978, Bob accepted a position as the Director of the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro NC, which perfectly suited his leadership expertise and his love of wildlife. He was instrumental in the design, construction, and opening of the African continent section of the zoo along with the world renown Aviary. Bob worked tirelessly to gain funding for the zoo, along with helping to make it one of the top zoos in the country and a major tourist attraction for the state.
Bob was a lifetime member of the Marine Corps Association, the World Zoo Council, on the board of Directors at National Geographic, a member of the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums, and a member of the Jane Goodall Institute. He was also a member of the Rotary Club for over 50 yrs.
In 1993, Bob and Ann retired from the zoo and enjoyed living on the coast of North Carolina at St. James. He loved golfing, gardening, and spending time with his grandchildren. In 2018, Bob and Ann made their last move to Windsor Point Retirement community in Fuquay Varina to be closer to their children and grandchildren.
Along with his parents, Bob was preceded in death by his wife Ann, daughter Lee Ann (Fry) Watson, and brother Howard Fry. He is survived by his sons Christopher and John (Elizabeth), son-in-law Jeff Watson, grandchildren Sarah (Fry) Dickson and husband Dan, Robert Fry, Taylor Watson (Nohely), Emma Fry, and Christopher Fry, as well as many nieces and nephews.
A private family ceremony will be held at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date.
Should friends desire, contributions may be sent to https://www.nczoo.com/forms/store/teaching-the-world/ or https://secure.janegoodall.org/give/328356/#!/donation/checkout.
For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.
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City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.
Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.
Our Promise
Apples to Apples
Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.
The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.
Genuine Care
We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.
Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.
We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.
State Wide
Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.
Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.
Our Services
$1196.75
Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. We include everything you need for a simple or direct cremation. Simple, affordable and reliable. We have not changed the cost of our direct cremation service since we opened City of Oaks in 2012.
$2875.66
We offer the option of choosing how you receive your loved ones remains. Selecting our Direct Cremation with Solidified Remains option is a beautiful way to transform cremated remains into 40-60 “stones” that you can hold.
$1917.84
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation option with onsite visitation. Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. Simple, affordable and reliable.
$2497.50
An immediate burial has the same end result as a traditional burial; however, we have eliminated the extra (sometimes unnecessary) services prior to getting to the cemetery. Not everyone wants an open casket for viewing or a limousine for the family. Despite the term immediate, we can move as fast as you need or as slow as you like. This option simply allows you to save money by eliminating some of the fancy extras at the funeral home.
$3033.75
This establishment is one of a select number of funeral homes who meet the criteria for providing green funeral service by the Green Burial Council; a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally sustainability in the field of funeral service. Our Green options allow for a funeral to take place without the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials/chemicals.
$6081.48
We offer the same traditional funeral services as the big corporately owned funeral homes in the area; however, we cost about half the amount. You might consider a traditional funeral service if your family is looking for an open casket visitation, a traditional church service or a funeral service in the funeral home's chapel. A traditional funeral service can be altered to fit the needs of your family.
$2640.59
As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home also offers Aquamation. The Aquamation process, often referred to as alkaline hydrolysis, uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.