Dr. Paul William “Bill” Frey, of Dickinson, Texas, passed away on Friday March 21, 2025.  Born on November 21, 1945, he died after suffering recent health afflictions, including dementia, but not having lost his whimsical spirit. He was 79.

An inquisitive soul who never stopped trying to answer life’s most difficult questions, Bill was a cherished son, a devoted husband, a dear friend, and a loving and loved father and grandfather.  Born in Altadena, California to Ernest and Betty Frey, he grew up in Houston, TX, where he attended Lamar High School, before transferring to the newly opened Robert E. Lee High School, where he was a member of the very first graduating class. He then attended Austin College (Sherman), the University of Texas (Austin) and the University of the Texas Medical Branch (Galveston). He eventually made his life and raised his family along the bayou in Dickinson, Texas.

His patients in family practice and in the emergency rooms he served remember Dr. Frey as a caring and compassionate doctor. He took his hippocratic oath seriously, providing care to many who were unable to pay or whom other doctors would not treat. He would say, “I only work in places that allow me to practice good medicine;” and his patients benefited from this. His kids understood this to mean that you only work where you can do the right thing, no matter what it is, and to work in service to others.

Bill was a loyal and faithful friend. For many decades, he met weekly with his childhood best friend, Russell Neel, for a game of golf or later, a meal. He also opened his home to many friends and fellow musicians, hosting weekly jam sessions on Sunday evenings for years.

While he was known as a caring doctor and a dear friend, probably his greatest achievements were as a husband and a father.  Bill married his high school sweetheart, the former Karry Taylor, in 1966. He was as determined to provide for her and to live a fulfilled, unique life together. Over the course of nearly 60 years of marriage, and through the many ups and downs, he remained devoted to her. Together they raised four independent children who all followed his and Karry’s lead into helping professions (education, military, and ministry).

Music always played a significant role in Bill’s life. He sang in bluegrass bands, folk/gospel groups, church choirs, and even a barbershop quartet for a time. He tried his hand at myriad musical instruments, becoming quite accomplished on the piano and on the guitar. Though he lost the ability to play his guitar in recent years, he continued to play piano up until his death, much to the delight of the staff and residents at the memory care facility where he resided in th last months of his life. When they were younger, Bill would serenade his children to sleep with his guitar accompanying his beautiful tenor voice, and then his raucous piano playing might wake them up. His children loved growing up in a home filled with the sweet bluegrass, folk, and gospel tunes that would lift their spirits (and distract them from their homework or delay bedtime by requesting “just one more” song).

Bill loved being outdoors, often fishing and sailing along the Texas City Dike. However, no matter how much he loved the beauty of the Texas Gulf Coast, he would jump at the chance to explore other regions of North America. From camping at Guadalupe State Park to constructing a suspect snow cave in Colorado, to tubing down the Little Tennessee River in North Carolina, to backpacking every spring break with his sons and their friends in Big Bend National Park, to climbing trees in his own backyard to photograph baby birds, Bill was always ready and eager to explore the world, and to celebrate the weird and wonderful aspects of the land. However, you better not let him catch you sledding down a hill that has trees next to it, or he would chase you down to protect you from crashing and breaking your neck. Because at the end of the day, he wanted his family safe and in one piece.  Before his memories started to fade, he was always looking to make sure his family had the best knowledge there was to make to good decisions and live a moral life.

Bill is remembered fondly for his silly hats, his love of finding used (but quality) golf clubs or cameras at pawn shops, his requirement everyone wear sunscreen and seatbelts long before they became fashionable/legal, his devotion to walking and/or biking as legit means of transportation in car-obsessed Texas, his pursuit of only buying used cars, his commitment to having a rotary phone until the government made him get touch tone, his desire to one day own an antique shop (which would explain the inventory of stuff his kids now need to sort), his eagerness to explore new cuisines (while maintaining his devotion to Golden Corral and Monterey House), his aversion to small talk and his slow and deliberate discourse on topics both deep and diverse, and his goofy smile when he recognized any of his children walking into the room.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Ernest Martin Frey and Elizabeth Hershey Frey; his brothers Richard “Dick” Frey and John “Jack” Frey and their wives (both named Shirley); and daughter Katharine and son Mark.

He is survived by his devoted wife Karry, his beloved children Hilary Miller (Joel), Rachel Frey (Craig Heinke), Christopher Frey (Katie Hall) and Benjamin Frey (Irina King); his grandchildren Will Stallings, Kimberlyn Miller, Talon Miller (Zoie), Leo Frey-Heinke, Eloise Frey, Ernie Frey, Elmer Frey, Elbert “Ebsy” Frey, and Adrian King-Frey; great-granddaughter Maddie Miller; sister Julia Taylor (Terry); and many, many cherished nieces and nephews.

He was loved, he is missed, and he will be long remembered by those who love him.

A celebration of Bill’s life will be held on July 21 at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Dickinson, where the Freys have been members since 1979. Memorial gifts can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association or to a charity of your choosing.