Edward Donald Fry II was born in Alton, Illinois on November 23, 1956. His family moved to Pine Bluff, Arkansas when Fry was fourteen. Fry attended Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1976. In 1977, he pursued postgraduate work studying complex organizations and institutions at Emory University in Atlanta. Lastly, Fry attended UA Little Rock’s Bowen School of Law, where he obtained his Juris Doctor and passed the Arkansas Bar in 1984.
Fry spent the intervening years between graduate and law school working for First Arkansas Leasing Corporation, a subsidiary of Worthen Banking Corporation.
Fry was an active member of the Young Democrats of America (YDA). He joined Pulaski County sheriff Tommy Robinson’s campaign for Congress in 1984 and became his chief of staff when Robinson was elected to represent Arkansas’s second district. During his time with Robinson, Fry successfully ran for president of YDA.
In 1989, Robinson left the Democratic Party and became a Republican. Fry left his position as Robinson’s chief of staff and returned from D.C. to Little Rock. As YDA president, Fry began traveling internationally with the American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL) to promote democracy in the former USSR, Poland, Taiwan, and South Korea.
Upon his return to Little Rock, Fry worked as an independent consultant on a number of local elections but eventually found a job with Ray Thornton, a Democrat who successfully challenged Robinson in 1991.
While serving as Thornton’s chief of staff, Fry also found time to volunteer for the 1992 Clinton campaign, joining the “Arkansas Travelers” on trips to New Hampshire and South Dakota.
Fry served as Thornton’s chief of staff from 1991 to 1997, when Thornton retired. Fry then served as Representative Vic Snyder’s chief of staff until Fry’s retirement in 2007.
Outside of politics, Fry maintained an interest in boating. He owned a 58-foot yacht named “Current Event” which he kept in Little Rock on the Arkansas River during the summer, and in Fort Lauderdale, Florida during the winter. He rented the vessel out when it was not in use. Fry maintained a U.S. Coast Guard Masters License, as well as a pilot’s license. Fry spent the following years using his skills in the D.C. private sector and pursuing his hobby of boating in Ft. Lauderdale until his death there in 2012. Fry was survived by his life partner, Mark McCullough.