Mary Elizabeth Frey

Mary Elizabeth Frey, 93, of Forsyth, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, April 14, 2026.

Mary Elizabeth (Betty) Levins was born on January 28, 1933, in West Burlington, Iowa. She was a daughter of Alvin Patrick Sr. and Emily Mary (French) Levins. On February 13, 1954, she married Charles T. Frey in St. Mary’s Catholic Church, West Burlington, Iowa.

Mary graduated from St. Paul’s High School, Burlington, Iowa in 1951.

Mary worked as a telephone operator for Northwestern Bell when she met her future husband who worked at the Mount Pleasant Iowa ordnance plant. After her children were grown, Mary worked at Carson Pirie Scott, Northtown Bank, and later as a Customer Service Representative for United Parcel Service.

Mary loved spending time with family, from driving her small children and neighborhood friends to the Sun ‘N Fun Club, driving her sons to swim practice and swim meets, to taking her daughters on shopping trips to Four Seasons, Oak Brook Mall, or the Galleria Mall in St. Louis. Mary was an excellent cook and passed her culinary skills to her daughters and granddaughters. Mary enjoyed bicycling with the Decatur Bicycle Club, camping, bridge, and family vacations to Keosauqua State Park in Iowa and Babcock State Park in West Virginia. Mary and Charles enjoyed many trips and holidays to New Jersey for visits with their granddaughters Emilee and Marielle. They also traveled to the Levins home country of Ireland with Mary’s brothers Arthur Paul and Stella Levins and Donald Thomas and Ann Levins. Other trips included visits to Canada, Savannah, Georgia, Caribbean cruises, and visits with son Charles in Ft. Myers, Florida.

Survivors include her husband, Charles; two daughters, Jeanne (Carl) Curry and Celeste (Tom) Ames; two sons, Thomas Frey and Joseph (Valora) Frey; brothers LeRoy Joseph Levins, Mark Edward Levins, and Richard Michael Levins; sisters, Rosemary Ann Loper and Paulette Joan Nichols; eight grandchildren, Sarah Curry, Charles Curry, Natalie (Paul) Fritz, Emilee Frey, Marielle (Zachary) Allen, Amaya Beth Frey, Seth (Ieisha) Halford, Charissa (David) Wilmes, and eight great-grandchildren, and many very loved nieces and nephews.

Besides her parents, she is preceded in death by her son, Charles Michael; her daughter, Beth Marie; brothers, Alvin Patrick Levins Jr., Donald Thomas Levins, Arthur Paul Levins, Russell James Levins, John Daniel Levins; sisters, Marilyn Frances Weingart, Helen Theresa Rankin, Carol Lynn Phillips, and Norma Jean Raschendorfer.

Visitation will be held on Tuesday, April 21, at 10:00 a.m. at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church with Funeral Mass of the Resurrection to follow at 11:00 a.m. Burial will follow at Boiling Springs Cemetery. Brintlinger and Earl Funeral Home is assisting with arrangements.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105.