Gregory Stanley Fryzel's Obituary
Gregory Stanley Fryzel, 77, of Fort Wayne, passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, at Lutheran Hospital, Fort Wayne. Born in Detroit, Mich., he was the son of the late Stanley and Stella (Krzyskowski) Fryzel. As an educator in the classroom, Gregory loved to engage young minds in a way that encouraged them to learn more than the French subject material for the day. Students at both Bishop Luers Catholic High School and Homestead High School lived for his tangents on poetry, love, and his life's start growing up in inner-city Detroit.
As an educator outside the classroom, Gregory loved to engage any aged mind in a way that made them interested in learning something, sometimes obscure, that they didn't know they would benefit from knowing. Gregory knew a lot about many things, including lexicology, birds & butterflies, orchids, and music.
He swooned over classical music, including organ and choral music, which often vibrated the house when he was home alone. An opera or Broadway score were also no strangers to his world. He was music through and through, and he sometimes regretted not studying music composition in college. Gregory's natural ability at the keyboard was remarkable and listening to him emote on the piano was a gift.
Gregory was a Franciscan Friar for over 20 years at the start of his career, which influenced his life all the way to the end. During the horrific cervical spine pain he endured during the last four years of life on earth, he could be seen in his recliner, meditating in utter quiet and darkness for extended periods of time. He was channeling an inner-and higher-strength to endure the terror of chronic pain. The gifts bestowed on him by the Franciscan Order include the many brethren he stayed connected with over the years despite his departing the Order to pursue a more secular life.
This allowed him to live out his full identity, connecting with his life's love, John, in 1997. They enjoyed an enduring love and charmed life together for 27 years and were able to marry in 2013.
Gregory is missed for more than the above. Did you ever dine at his table? If so, enough said. If not, just know that he created wonderful food and eschewed the moniker of "chef" in favor of "cook". He so admired humble, talented cooks, and he watched them at every chance on TV to learn something new. In his older age, he often turned off the sound of cooking shows and just watched the chefs, ahem, cooks work, soaking in technique and deducing ingredients. And that's what he replicated in the kitchen: Cooking magic.
Gregory's absence now is palpable both at home and in the usual communication he kept up with family, beloved friends, and former students. He held his family and friends dear to him. He would want to say 'thank you' to those of you from all his life's endeavors who stayed in touch over the years. You meant the world to him.
Gregory left us too soon. Mostly because he was so loving and funnier than hell, and we sure need more of that. If you chuckle at that, you know of his often-irreverent wit. He made his husband laugh every day, even to the end. Shortly before he died, he awoke briefly from his stupor and asked John sitting bedside, "Aren't you bored?"
Gregory, you were never boring, even in your struggle to leave your earthly bounds. Fly free.
He is survived by his husband of 11 years, John M. Gevers; sister, Linda (Michael) Czajka; sister-in-law, Karen (Joe) Ackerman; brother-in-law, Robert (Lynda) Gevers; nephew, Robert John Gevers; and several cousins. He was also preceded in death by his parents-in-law, Robert and Trudy Gevers.
A memorial gathering in spring/summer 2025 will be announced. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Stillwater Foundation: stillwater-hospice.org Arrangements by Harper's Community Funeral Home, 740 St. Rd. 930 E., New Haven. For online condolences please visit www.harperfuneralhome.com
What’s your fondest memory of Gregory?
What’s a lesson you learned from Gregory?
Share a story where Gregory's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Gregory you’ll never forget.
How did Gregory make you smile?