- Date Of Birth: May 6, 1955
- Date Of Death: March 1, 2015
- State: Idaho
Richard T. (Rick) Frei died Sunday, March 1, 2015 in Boise, Idaho from complications of a stroke. He was born in Grangeville, Idaho on May 6, 1955, the ninth child of Al and Caroline (Wemhoff) Frei. He graduated from Grangeville High School in 1973. Rick loved being outdoors and helped on the family farm and also worked with his brothers on their farms. Rick like many in his family loved flying and had his pilots license at an early age. He drove logging trucks until 1999 when he and his wife Deb bought the Short Branch Bar in Riggins, Idaho, which they remodeled and renamed the Rodeo Club. Rick used to say he was the PR guy and Deb was the worker bee. After selling the Rodeo Club in 2008, Rick and Deb moved to Grangeville, built a house and continued farming. Rick and Deb lived their lives together to the fullest and took risk. Rick was very creative and could build or repair anything. He liked to hunt and fish and spend time with family. He was always a very caring person and demonstrated this in a profound way by donating a kidney to his brother Leroy.
Rick was married to Cheryl Vrieling and they had a daughter, Nicole, in 1980. In 1996 Rick married Deborah Bell gaining a stepson, Rob, and stepdaughter, Julie.
Rick is survived by his wife, Deb of Payette, Idaho; daughter Nicole and Jay Jenkins of Clarkston, WA; step-daughter Julie and Danny Jensen of Vancouver, WA; step-son Rob Peterson and wife Mary of Ontario, Or ; grandsons Jace and Alex, granddaughters Cadee, Megan and Kayla and two great grand daughters. He is also survived by four brothers and their wives: Ron and Glenda, Gerald and Jan, Mike and Jana all of Grangeville; David and Ann of Weiser, Idaho. He is also survived by two sisters: Kathy Lacey and husband Terry of Dublin, California and Helen Scrivner and husband John of Spokane, Washington and two sister in laws, Barbara Frei Gehring of Grangeville and Marilyn Frei of Spokane. Rick is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
He was preceded in death by his parents Al and Caroline Frei., brothers Leroy and Jim.
