In Memory
Joanne S. Schultz Frye
Nov 6, 1944 - Jul 22, 2024
Joanne S. Frye, dedicated professor, community member, mentor and friend, loving partner, mother, and grandmother, passed away on July 22, age 79, following years of successful treatment of an immune disorder (CVID) with eventual complications and organ damage.
Joanne S. Frye was born in South Bend, Indiana, on November 6, 1944, to Harold Bargen Schultz and Emma "Bunny" Detweiler Schultz. The household in which she grew up was Mennonite, but as an adult Joanne found a separate path, driven by a voracious love of literature, a tremendous compassion, and a thirst for social justice and lively intellectual conversation. After graduating valedictorian from John Adams High School in South Bend, Joanne earned a bachelor's degree in English from Bluffton College, followed by a PhD in English from Indiana University (Bloomington). In 1968, Joanne married Lawrence Frye, with whom she had two daughters, Kara and Adriane. Joanne and Lawrence divorced in 1976. A decade later she would meet her soon-to-be life partner, on a cross-country plane ride to San Francisco.
Joanne was fortunate in her first full-time teaching job at the College of Wooster, where she particularly valued working with individual students, the curricular flexibility, and the openness to interdisciplinary work. From these foundations, she was central in founding the Women's Studies program, a program she chaired for a number of years. She was also able to create meaningful new syllabi, and especially enjoyed teaching individual author courses, which enabled her to explore history and cultural context with her students. Virginia Woolf, Toni Morrison, and the Bronte sisters were among her favorite author-focused classes. Joanne also developed a unique interdisciplinary course called Feminist Perspectives on Motherhood, a then emergent field she stepped boldly into, finding and making new connections between personal life lessons, literature, and social and cultural norms and changes.
With the help of generous support from the college, including its leave program, Joanne was able to complete and publish three books, each drawing on significant research alongside teaching experiences: Living Stories, Telling Lives: Women and the Novel in Contemporary Experience (1986); Tillie Olsen: A Study of the Short Fiction (1995); and Biting the Moon: A Memoir of Feminism and Motherhood (2012), along with a personal collection, A Mosaic of Memories (2023). Joanne was able to take academic leaves in London, UK, and in Berkeley, California, as well as finding sustained writing time at home. Many Wooster community members also knew Joanne from her longstanding daily walks, a space not only of movement, but also of reflection and connection.
Joanne is survived by her husband, whom she married in 1989, her two daughters, and four grandchildren. She is also survived by sister and brother-in-law, and brother and sister-in-law. As fiercely devoted to writing and educating as to family, her memory and influence endures in multiple generations of students and with dear friends and loving family.
Memorial services will take place on Saturday, July 27, 6:00 pm at Custer-Glenn Funeral Home, 2284 Benden Dr., in Wooster with Daron Butler officiating.
Visitation for family and friend's will be from 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm prior to the memorial service at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Global Fund for Women, Attn. Contributions Office, PO Box 97309 Washington, DC 20090-7309 or at: globalfundforwomen.org.
Source: Legacy.com
03/03/2026 EJS
John Miller (1962)
I was a classmate and friend of Joanne Schultz at Adams. I remember her well and I remember her mother who was also a teacher at Adams. I am sad to see that she died in 2024. I was reminded of Joanne through her mother who taught English and who brought the four line poem Outwitted by Edwin Markham to our attention. My condolences to Joanne's two children and husband.
John W. Miller, Class of 1962