Sherril “Papa” Fry, 83, of Clarkesville, passed away Sunday, March 30, 2025, at his residence, surrounded by his family.
A simple man with a servant’s heart, Sherril was born February 23, 1942, cultivated a spirited life of family, faith, fast cars, and fresh air. He started the “fine art” of making moonshine at the ripe age of 8, barefoot, high in the hills of Habersham. His youth was non-traditional, to say the least. “Family” included his wife Rosalie, four children; Mary, George, Randall, and Cole, as well as the friends that life sent his way. In Sherril’s latter years, NASCAR on television was a common Sunday afternoon pleasure.
Sherril was the son of the late Calvo and Margie Smith Fry. He is survived by his wife Rosalie Hallford Fry of Clarkesville, Daughter Mary Fry of Hollywood, and sons George Fry of Clarkesville (wife Susanne), Randall Roy Fry of Clarkesville, and Brent Cole Fry of Carrolton, grandchildren of Clarkesville Jacey Fry Hutchins and Autumn Fry, and great-grandchild Maya Anne Auzon. He is also blessed with siblings Meryle Fry Rodriguez of Demorest (husband Charlie), Linda Sue Skelton of Demorest (husband Paul), Shelby Jean Herris of Villa Rica, Bruce Fry of Clarkesville, and the late Alton Fry, senior (wife Ruth). Scovill has also been affected by the influence of the presence of Sherril. He retired after serving 30+ years at the factory with perseverance and dedication. He had a community of people who maintained the respect and balance of the “old ways” by bartering and trading. These people became lifelong friends and, in turn, family.
He attended Macedonia Baptist Church, where his lifelong faith had taken root. Following his Granny Fry’s footsteps, he did more than warm a pew. Sherril knew that he could feed people, and when people visited his garden, they would leave with more than fresh vegetables to enjoy for Sunday dinners. They would leave with food to be canned for the winter and a nostalgic experience to share with their household.
Beyond NASCAR races, Sherril was well known in his younger years for his red ’57 Chevrolet. Fast cars were needed for “effective transportation.” He would frequently be seen wearing his warn boots untied, and it was discovered that his boots were united for a reason. Sherril could outrun the revenuers faster barefooted, so he would sport his boots with untied laces, and at any moment, his boots could be kicked off.
Sherril was often sighted driving in a worn truck with a hunting dog in tow. He loved squirrel hunting and fishing. He would shoot and skin a squirrel in a fluid motion. He enjoyed squirrel dumplings and fried squirrel meat rolled in flour. The outdoors was his sanctuary: fresh air filled his lungs with adrenaline from decades of hard work.
Rows of tomato cages, bushels of green beans, mounds of crook neck squash tell the story of a man who has lived close to the Earth, bound with is ken folk, indebted to his savior, and lifted by his family as a man who evokes change. The clean-shaven, black flat top, overall/white t-shirt-wearing, calloused-hands and barefoot man is called Sherril Fry, who loves deeply and will encourage you to cultivate a future for yourself.
While his story lives on, he abides with our Heavenly Father. He passed away at home, surrounded by his loved ones, on March 30th, 2025, at the ripe old age of 83.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM, Thursday, April 3, 2025 at Macedonia Baptist Church. Interment will follow the service in the church cemetery. The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Wednesday, April 2, 2025 from 5-8 PM.
Flowers are accepted or memorials may be made to the MDS Foundation at mds-foundation.org.
An online guestbook is available for the family at HillsideMemorialChapel.com.
Arrangements are in the care and professional direction of Hillside Memorial Chapel, Clarkesville, Georgia.
An online guestbook is available for the family at HillsideMemorialChapel.comHillsideMemorialChapel.com.
