- Name: Mary Kathryn "Katie" Frey (McAlpine)
- Location of Birth: Duluth, Minnesota
- Date of Birth: June 22, 1918
- Date of Death: July 13, 2010 (92 years old)
- Parents: William McAlpine and Johanna (Kennedy) McAlpine
- High School and Class: High School graduate
- College:
- Highest Rank: SP 2 (Specialist 2nd Class Petty Officer)
- Branch: Navy
- Other Branch:
- Date Sworn In: March 24, 2944
- Place Sworn In:
- Date of Discharge: August 6, 1946
- Place of Discharge: Washington, D.C.
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Units and Locations:
Start Date End Date Unit(s) and Location(s) Served June 15, 1944 First entry to active service was at the Naval Training Station, in Bronx, New York Naval Barracks, Washington, D.C. Receiving Station Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. - Military Awards:
American Campaign Medal
Victory Medal - Military Highlights:
Katie worked in communications as a switchboard operator.
Katie often remembered the flowering cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C., where she was stationed at one time. - Wars Involved:
World War II - MIA / POW:
- Civilian Life:
Katie was raised by her grandparents, Mike McAlpine and Stella (Hilling) McAlpine, after her mother's death.
Katie returned to Grand Rapids, Minnesota. She worked at Bell Telephone, married and raised a family here.
Katie met her future husband, Arthur Frey, at a telephone party and they were united in marriage in 1948. She was active and served in leadership roles in the American Legion Post 452, Fraternal Order of Eagles and St. Joseph's Catholic Church parish in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The Les Girls troupe act in Showboat was an audience favorite for many years, where the group totally enjoyed the camaraderie and she stole the show with her legs. Katie was full of life and enjoyed her bridge group, neighbors, her many friends, and those she worked with at Northwestern Bell Telephone Company and Itasca County Courthouse. She was active in Boy Scouts while her boys were young and volunteered many hours in community activities.
She is preceded in death by her parents, husband Arthur in 1993, several siblings and her grandparents, Mike and Stella McAlpine, early settlers in Grand Rapids.
She is survived by one daughter, Jackie (Thomas) Sather; three sons, William (Jeanie), James (Patricia), and Robert (Nona); six grandchildren, four great-grandchildren; several nieces, nephews, brothers, sisters and cousins. She was particularly close to Jean Denzel, her cousin and dear friend.
Buried in Itasca Calvary Cemetery at Grand Rapids, Minnesota. (Plot I-G-23-21) - Tribal Affiliation(s):