John Frey

John Eric Frey’s earthly pilgrimage began on his father’s fruit farm on the edge of Aylmer, Ontario, and ended 75 years later, on June 17, 2026, in a hospital in Porto Velho, Brazil, near the source of the Amazon River.

He was born on January 20, 1951. His early life was shaped by the active Christian faith of his parents, Herbert and Isabel Frey, and by their church’s focus on global missions. One of John’s role models, Ron Faw, also grew up in that church. He became a missionary to the region of Brazil that, decades later, became John’s home after he accepted Ron’s invitation to come and teach English. Ron’s wife, Jeanette, introduced John to Irene, a Brazilian woman whom John married on December 31, 2008. By then, many other things had happened in John’s life. He and his first wife, Leslie, had raised two sons, Carl and Patrick. John had operated a farm near Belmont, trucked for a local company, earned a B.A. from what is now Wilfred Laurier University and a diploma in respiratory therapy from Fanshawe College, and studied theology at Knox College. He was ready for a major life change, and it happened in Brazil, in and around Porto Velho, a bustling city where he shared life with Irene’s family. Facebook calls and air-mailed clippings from The Aylmer Express kept him connected with his Canadian kinfolk. Another blessing lay in the nearby countryside—a small farm where the former farm boy found peace and purpose growing fruit and vegetables.

John is survived by his sisters and brothers-in-law, Esther Barnes of Toronto, Anne and Ron Warder of Aurora, and Miriam and David Helsdon of Straffordville, by their families, and by his offspring and their families: Carl Frey and Sheri Williamson and Patrick Carroll, Jessica Carroll and their children Jayden Carroll, Issac Carroll and Evelyn Carroll.

A private celebration of John’s life will be held in Burlington on July 12, 2026. Burial has taken place in John’s chosen country.