Edith Edie Ditmer Frey, 91, went to her heavenly home, promoted to Glory, March 11, 2018, at home as she wished with her son, Kirk, and sister, Eileen by her side.
She was born in Youngstown, Ohio on September 5, 1926, to Salvation Army officers, Brigadier Clarence Arthur and Mary Elizabeth (Hagerman) Ditmer.   She graduated from Alliance High School, and achieved a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Mount Union College and Master of Music Education from Kansas State Teachers College.
Edith was the director of the Wooster High School Senior Choir and several high school chorale ensembles, in addition to teaching music in multiple elementary schools. During her tenure, the WHS Senior Choir attended many festivals winning top honors every year.   She  directed the First Presbyterian Church adult choir, and later became a committed member of the Wooster United Methodist Church where she was actively involved in the women’s circle and bell choir.    
She was an outstanding soprano. Her voice was superb.   A soloist at concerts across Ohio and Kansas of major classical works and a church soloist for many years, she was talented, setting her standards very high. She could have had a singing career of her own. Instead, she chose to teach young people.  
Before her illness, she was a member of the  Salvation Army Auxiliary and the  Wooster Community Hospital Auxiliary as  an enthusiastic volunteer messenger.  As a lifetime avid walker, she was often spotted in her neighborhood afternoons and evenings.   She was a lifelong Cleveland Indians fan, loved watching golf, and  enjoyed playing cards with her close knit Bridge club. Her extensive knowledge and well-known love for flowers and plants, made her one of the most amazing green thumbs in the region.
As a very young child, she learned carpentry from her dad, and together they constructed a mahogany shelving unit that stands in her living room. The youngest of seven children, her dad also taught her how to contribute to the family dinner table by catching frogs and whopping them on a rock.
Edith was preceded in death by her parents,  her husband, W. Kirk Frey, Sr., his parents; Robert Frederick Frey, Sr. and Orchid Marie (Kirk) Frey,  sisters; Thelma (Rev. David) Isaac, Dorothy (Commissioner Albert) Scott, Jean (Lieutenant Colonel Robert) Strain, and her brothers; Brigadier  Bernard  (Freda) Ditmer,    Commissioner Stanley (Catherine d., Anne)  Ditmer, brothers-in-law;  Robert (Gladys) Frey, Jr., and Hugh (Evelyn) Frey.  
Surviving are her daughters; Loryn Frey, Pineville, LA and Holly (Michael) Hassion, Wake Forest, NC, and her son, W. Kirk Frey, Jr. who lovingly and committedly, cared for her 24 hours a day, seven days a week, throughout the stages of her disease.   Also surviving; her sister Eileen Fox, two grandchildren, Rachel (John) Franklin and Daniel Hassion, sisters-in-law; Ellin (James) Pierman, Karin (James) Hermiller, and many nieces and nephews.
Edith’s memorial service will be held  Saturday, March 24, 2018 at 2:00 p.m.  in the sanctuary of the Wooster United Methodist Church, 243 N. Market St., Wooster with the Reverend Charles Tobias officiating.    The family will receive friends following  the service.
McIntire, Bradham & Sleek Funeral Home, 216 E. Larwill St., Wooster is assisting the family.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Edith’s memory may be made to Ohio’s Hospice LifeCare,  1900 Akron Rd., Wooster, OH 44691  and the Salvation Army,  437 S. Market St., Wooster, OH 44691
Online condolences may be left for the family at www.mcintirebradhamsleek.com.
 
 

Memorial Contributions
LifeCare Hospice, 1900 Akron Rd., Wooster, OH 44691 or the Salvation Army, 437 S. Market St., Wooster, OH 44691

Service
Saturday, March 24, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. at the Wooster United Methodist Church, 243 N. Market St., Wooster

Visitation
Following the service