Fry, Edward B.

April 4, 1925 - Sept. 2, 2010

Edward B. Fry, PH.D died in his home in Laguna Beach on 
September 2, 2010 surrounded by his family. He was born April 
4, 1925 in Los Angeles, CA, son of Eugene Bertram Fry and 
Francis Dreier Fry. He moved to Laguna Beach in 1937 and, at 
age 12, claimed that he was the first employee of Laguna Beach 
landmark The Pottery Shack for 15 cents an hour. He attended 
7th grade in bare feet. At Laguna Beach High, he became editor 
of the school newspaper and graduated, along with 40 others, in 
1942. His studies at Occidental College were interrupted by 
World War II, when he served in the Merchant Marine, primarily 
in the Pacific Theater. After the war, he graduated from 
Occidental College, married Carol Addison in 1950 and had two 
children, Shanti (1951) and Christopher (1953).

Ed became an expert in teach reading. He invented the Fry 
Readability Graph, which is a widely used tool for assessing the 
readability level of almost any type of reading material. He was 
on the faculty of Loyola University in LA and Rutgers University 
in NJ, where he became a full professor. During his twenty-two 
years at Rutgers, he was President of the National Reading 
Conference, the International Reading Association and the New 
Jersey Reading Association. He is a member of the Reading 
Teacher Hall of Fame.

Among his more than 31 books and more than 100 articles are 
"How to Teach Reading" developed for the Peace Corps, "The 
Reading Teacher's Book of Lists" with Jacqueline Kress, as well 
as a video series for Time-Life narrated by Dick Cavell and Bill 
Cosby. Ed founded Laguna Beach Educational Books and sold it 
to Teacher Created Materials. 

One of his major interests has been education in Africa. In 1960, 
he taught at Makerere University in Uganda as a Fulbright 
Scholar and later developed the University Press at Africa 
University in Zimbabwe.

After retiring from Rutgers, Ed moved back to Laguna Beach 
with his second wife Cathy, whom he married in 1974. He was 
active in the Laguna Beach United Methodist Church, Village 
Laguna, the Laguna Canyon Conservancy and the Democratic 
Club among other groups. He especially loved being a docent in 
the Laguna Canyon and making frequent trips to Sante Fe, NM 
for skiing and art.

Ed is survived by his wife Cathy Fry, daughter Shanti Fry, son 
Christopher Fry, stepchildren Kim Rau and Kirk Boyce and 
grandchildren Julia Zinsmeyer, Victoria Zinsmeyer, Jeremy Fry, 
Jeff Rau, Jamie Rau, Dustin Boyce, Brandie Boyce and extended 
family grand daughter Elizabeth Linn.

A memorial service will be at 1 PM on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2010 
at the United Methodist Church, 21632 Wesley Drive, Laguna 
Beach, CA.

In lieu of flowers, please send a check made out to: 

Edward Fry Endowed Graduate Fellowship Fund (Rutgers 
University), Africa University or Laguna Canyon Foundation to 
Cathy Fry, 245 Grandview Street, Laguna Beach, CA 92651.

Published in the Los Angeles Times on September 12, 2010