Carol Sue (Govedich) Fridy

Carol Fridy, age 75, died on Wednesday, April 8, 2020, in the comfort of her home.

Carol was born in Davis, West Virginia, youngest child to Walter Govedich and Mary Lawrence Govedich. Crowned "Little Miss Blackwater Falls" as a young girl, she loved living among family in a small, tight-knit town. When she was in elementary school, her parents moved the family from the beautiful hills of Tucker County, after the coalmines closed, settling in Willowick, Ohio. She attended North High School and later graduated from Kent State University, with a degree in education. She eventually met her husband John in the Kent State math department while working as a post-graduate on the summer workshop for high school math teachers. She taught for several years before electing to stay home to raise her children. Carol was a natural caretaker, always putting the needs of others above her own. She extended that love to the next generation when she became a grandmother to Annie, and later to twin grandsons Charlie and Finn, who gave her a great reason to make frequent trips to Washington DC.

Carol was a community-minded person with a devoted spirit of volunteerism; she loved the city of Kent and supported many local charitable organizations. A kind person with a great wit, she seemed to collect lifelong friends everywhere she went, including in University Women and Junior Mothers, and on the tennis court, where she not only exercised her wicked one-handed backhand and tired opponents with her endless energy, but also met some of her dearest friends. Carol loved nature and found great joy in spending time outside, and for many years was a member (and recently, President) of the Elm Garden Club. She found great peace and enjoyment in volunteering at Kent’s historic Pioneer Cemetery, where she spent so many hours weeding and planting flowers.

Preceded in death by her beloved parents as well as family members Al Boyd and Joce Govedich, she will be missed by her husband of 48 years John Fridy; son, Jeremy (Tiffany) Fridy; daughter, Susan (Bobby McElhinney) Fridy; grandchildren Annie, Finn, and Charlie; stepchildren Linda (Dave Osterhoudt) Fridy and Jay (Jo Ann) Fridy, and their children Kenny and Kate Osterhoudt, and Hannah and Ian Fridy; siblings Walter "Bud" Govedich and Margaret Boyd; cousins Diane Baker, Johnny Lawrence, and Nancy Zizunas; as well as countless friends and loved ones.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Freedom House or Miller House affiliated with Kent Family & Community Services, or towards gastric cancer research at No Stomach for Cancer. A celebration of life will be planned at a later date, when such gatherings are considered safe. In the meantime, the family urges you to remember her sweet spirit while visiting with a friend or loved one and enjoying a hot cup of coffee (or a frozen margarita with a salted rim). For those in the Kent area, Carol would have loved for you to visit the Pioneer Cemetery and pull a few weeds while you're there.

Services in care of Bissler & Sons Funeral Home and Crematory, 628 West Main Street, Kent, OH 44240.