For nearly fifty Septembers, Dave Fry got to Eastside Park before the sun did.

He passed away peacefully on Friday, September 11, 2026, at 73, after a brief illness, with his family around him. The third weekend of September is coming, and so are the cars — hundreds of them, rolling into that park in Washington, Indiana, the way they have for decades, because several young men wanted to bring together a community of car lovers.

Dave was born April 25, 1953, in El Paso, Texas, the son of Edward Fry and Ruth Watkins Lundy. He made his life in Washington, and he spent his working years around machines and the people who run them, most recently at MacAllister Machinery.

He joined the 20th Century Chevy Car Club 51 years ago and never really left it. He served as its president, though the title undersells him. Presidents come and go. Dave was simply there — at the meetings, under the hoods, on the phone chasing a permit nobody else wanted to chase, or standing at the bottom of the drive to Eastside Park checking in cars at the Carfest. Over five decades, with the friends he made in that club, he helped turn a group of local enthusiasts into the standard against which classic car clubs in the Midwest are measured.

His own car was a red 1957 Chevrolet Bel-Air, winner of numerous awards over the years.

His great public work was the Cruiz-In and Carfest. He helped build it from scratch and then, year after year, refused to let it become somebody else's job. He directed traffic. He walked the rows. He found out where a man had driven in from and remembered it the next year. What he and the club made is now counted among the finest car shows in the Midwest, and every September it fills Washington with visitors, business, and a kind of civic pride no committee can manufacture.

He believed in giving back to the community. So, he spearheaded project after project through the club — an annual Christmas project to bring Christmas to countless families in Washington, improving Eastside Park, and regular excursions for the club. By any measure, he was the consummate community citizen.

In addition to his passion for 20th Century Chevy, he was a devoted Little League coach. He coached and mentored countless young players over the years – leaving an indelible mark far beyond the ballpark.

He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Kris; his four sons and their wives, Jason and Sarah (Washington, IN), Nathan and Michele (Cambridge, MA), Michael and Angela (Bay Village, OH), and Jeremy and Rhiannon (Washington, IN); and his thirteen grandchildren, who knew him not as a club president but as the man who let them sit behind the wheel of the Bel-Air. If there’s one thing he loved more than the club, it was his family.

Dave is survived by his sister Cheryl and her husband Bob King, his brother Jeff and his wife Michelle Fry, his sister and brother-in-law Debbie and Harry Brown, and many nieces, nephews, and other relatives. He is preceded in death by his parents and his sister Linda Lindsay.

Visitation will be held Tuesday, September 15, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Goodwin-Sievers Funeral Home in Washington. A funeral service will follow at 4 p.m., officiated by Byron Holtsclaw.

But the real service is this weekend, at the Cruiz-In and Carfest in Eastside Park. While Dave may not be there, that red Bel-Air will – right where it should be.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to 20th Century Chevy for their annual Christmas Project at P.O. Box 371, Washington, IN 47501.

Goodwin-Sievers is honored and privileged to be entrusted with the care of Dave and his family.