Frederick Joseph Fries, better known as Rick, was born March 28, 1953, at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Rick took his journey home on April 15, 2023.
Rick’s mother Patricia preceded him in death.
Rick is survived by his wife Marie of Lynchburg, MO, three sons; Deric and Matthew of Lebanon, MO, and Eric of New Bern, NC; his father Fred Fries of Lynchburg; his sister Faye Holt, of Breaux Bridge, LA; his brother Adam Fries of Lebanon, MO; ten grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.
As the son of an active duty Marine, Rick grew up around several military bases before finally settling in Missouri, where he himself enlisted in the Navy. He married Marie in January of 1973, before traveling back to Hawaii as his first duty station. Subsequent assignments took him to Washington state, Japan, and Tennessee before retiring back to Missouri where he bought a farm to start raising cattle. Additional jobs were with a Fedex aircraft maintenance hub, and as a civil service employee at Fort Leonard Wood where he started work as an armorer and supply clerk, eventually becoming a heavy equipment maintenance instructor before resigning from that position in June of 2017.
Rick enjoyed hunting, fishing, and being on the water when he was close enough to the ocean. He was especially proud of and enjoyed time with his boys, and his grandchildren.
