Theodore Drake Frey
OBITUARY
Theodore “Ted” Frey, husband, father, brother, businessman, teacher, athlete, adventurer, a kind friend and mentor to many, died on July 26, 2024, from complications of a stroke in 2021. Ted was born at Germantown Hospital in Philadelphia and grew up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. In 1947, his father, Austin R. Frey, moved the family to Maryland, where he began his career at the United States Naval Postgraduate School in Annapolis. Ted attended several schools in the area, eventually attending The George School, a Quaker school in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, from which he graduated in 1951. That year, the Naval Postgraduate School moved to Monterey, California, and Ted decided to move the family to attend Stanford University. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in economics in 1955. Immediately after graduation, he enlisted in the Navy and served as a supply officer on two ships in the Western Pacific. While in the Navy, Ted met and married Barbara Thornton. After leaving the Navy, they moved to Boston where Ted attended Harvard Business School. After graduating from HBS as a Baker Scholar, Ted began his 30-year business career in Boston at Kordite Corp. His daughter Leslie was born there in 1960. In 1964, Ted started as a marketing planning coordinator at Esso Chemical. In 1966, Esso transferred Ted to Brussels, Belgium, where he spent 6 years building the European plastic resins market. During this time, the family expanded with the adoption of German-born twin girls (Jennifer and Laura). In 1972, the family returned to the Bay Area and settled in Lafayette, California. After a brief stint as a marketing manager for Potlatch Corporation, Ted began working in the corporate planning department at Crown Zellerbach and its later acquisition company, James River Co., until his retirement in 1996. Additionally, Ted served as an adjunct professor in the MBA program at St. Mary’s College in Moraga, California for more than two decades. There, Ted taught adult economic theory and made many lifelong friends and colleagues. Ted divorced in 1977. While Ted grew professionally, his personal life also evolved. Always a jogger, he began a self-reflection program called “Achieving Your Potential” by Lou Tice. He also expanded his athletic interests to include hiking, sailing, and tennis. With his daughter Leslie, he engaged in self-discovery and began volunteering at his church, leading programs for people in transition. He became an elder and participated in many activities offered to families seeking to build a healthy relationship. He played an active role in the lives of his twins, especially at their sporting events. In 1981, he met Anne Spanier, a nurse at California State University who shared many of his interests, including the outdoors, tennis, and traveling the world. Both volunteered in organizations of a political/cultural nature. They married in 1985. Ted served as president of the International Diplomacy Council, assisting foreign visitors in learning about our institutions. Most popular were the students learning about the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, domestic violence programs, and environmental conservation efforts. Ted was also active with Family Paths, an organization dedicated to creating healthy family relationships in families with court orders for child neglect and abuse. In his later years, Ted was able to indulge his adventurous spirit by traveling and hiking the world with Anne and friends and family. He especially enjoyed his trips to Bodrum, Turkey to visit his brother Donald and to sail on gulets. His daredevil adventures included paragliding in Switzerland, parasailing in Mexico, bungee jumping in New Zealand and skydiving in Concord! Ted’s daughter Laura Frey predeceased him. He is survived by his wife Anne Spanier Frey, his daughter Leslie and her husband Frank van Veenendaal, his daughter Jennifer Frey, his stepchildren Brian and Gwynne Lovas and three beloved grandchildren, Matthew and Monique van Veenendaal and Erynn Lovas-Darlington.
