Margaret Jane Frye

Margaret (Peggy) Jane Luke of Rochester Hills, Michigan passed away on July 17, 2026 at the age of 88. She was born in Ferndale, Michigan on August 2, 1937 to Edward and Harriet Luke. She attended Royal Oak High School where she was involved in both competitive and synchronized swimming. She earned a bachelor of science in education from Central Michigan University, graduating in 1959 and taught physical education and social studies briefly in Owosso and Ferndale. On March 17, 1962 Peggy married James Henry Frye and they spent 60 years together before his death in December 2022. She was a loving and devoted mother to her four daughters and expressed her kindness and generosity to everyone she met. She was the first to welcome a newcomer, lend a helping hand, and made everyone feel valued and seen.

Swimming was an integral part of her life from the beginning. In elementary school she would collect coupons from classmates to attend free swim at the local pool. In high school she swam on the swim team and performed in synchronized swimming shows. After college, she coached and directed synchronized swimming in Ferndale and won the Port Huron to Sarnia Cross-river Swim in 1961 and 1962. She taught Red Cross Learn to Swim lessons for 50 years in Birmingham, West Bloomfield, Novi and Bloomfield Hills, and was passionate about water safety for all, but especially young children. She was a competitive swim coach for Birmingham West Maple Middle School and AAU/USA teams the West Bloomfield Water Bandits and Birmingham Bloomfield Atlantis. In her later years, she enjoyed going to swim meets to watch her grandchildren compete, all of whom learned to swim at a young age due to her influence.

Her other hobbies included knitting and crocheting, solving sudoku puzzles, sewing, and playing video games. She had a passion for monarch butterflies and sought to help save them from extinction. She enjoyed watching all ten of her grandchildren participate in their various activities including theater shows, choir concerts, band concerts, soccer games, and dance recitals. Her favorite place on earth was the family cottage on Mullett Lake where she spent summers swimming, water skiing, sailing, tubing down the Sturgeon River, doing puzzles, and playing cards with the people she loved most. The love, kindness, and compassion she put out into the world will be missed beyond measure. Mom, we really, really love and miss you!

She was preceded in death by her husband James, sister Marion (John) Hawley, and sister-in-law Mary (Bob) Maten.

She is survived by her four daughters: Lisa Maurice of Troy, Linda (Buddy) Huyler of Grand Haven, Laura (Bill) Rinna of Farmington Hills, and Lesli (Bob) Kleber of Oakland Township; ten grandchildren: Jeremy, Emily, and Olivia Maurice; Noah, Samantha, and Leah Huyler; Sydney (Adam) Albert, Alexandra, Audrey, and Owen Kleber; sister-in-law Katherine (Stewart) Dibley; and countless nieces and nephews.

There is no public visitation or memorial service planned. Memorial contributions may be made in honor of Peggy to the Monarch Butterfly Fund at monarchconservation.org or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at stjude.org