Twyla Fried

Twyla Marie (Harkins) Fried
8/25/1941 – 4/10/2020

Funeral service for Twyla Fried, 78, of Liberty Lake, WA, will be 10:00 a.m., Saturday, June 27, 2020 at First Baptist Church in Baker, MT with Pastor Steve Deford and Pastor Levi Durfey officiating. Burial will be in Plevna Community Cemetery in Plevna, MT. Lunch will follow at the Fallon County Fairgrounds in Baker. For those attending, please adhere to the social distancing guidelines recommended by the CDC.

Twyla passed away on April 10, 2020 at her home in Liberty Lake, WA.

Twyla Marie Harkins was born August 25, 1941 to Odis and Helen (Parks) Harkins of Ekalaka, Montana. She died April 10, 2020 at her home in Spokane, Washington. Memories and recollections honoring Twyla can be found at http://twyla.frieds.org/UI.

Twyla is survived by her husband Raymond Fried, her sons Glenn and Dale, her brothers Wayne (Skip), Jim, Jerry (Cork), Richard (Dick), and Gary (Tyke) Harkins, as well as six grandchildren, and a host of family members.

Twyla was raised on her parents’ cattle ranch in the flats and breaks south-west of Ekalaka, MT, attending country schools and establishing her faith through the love and teaching of her parents, the Charles E. Fuller weekly radio broadcast, and the First Baptist Church of Ekalaka. Twyla attended boarding high school at the Sunshine Bible Academy, graduating in 1959. She ventured to Houston, TX for nursing school, graduating in 1962 from the Jefferson Davis School of Nursing. While attending Montana State College from 1962 to 1964 she courted Ray Fried, and they were married on September 21, 1963 in Ekalaka.

Twyla and Ray have two sons, Glenn (1965) and Dale (1968), and six grandchildren: Ella, Emmanuelle, Rose, Oliver, Amalie, and Molly. Twyla practiced nursing in professional and volunteer capacities, supported her husband’s career, and raised her family with diligence and purpose. The family lived in Lynchburg, VA, Brier, WA, Loveland, CO, and Liberty Lake, WA. After the sons left for college, Twyla ventured with Ray to Tokyo, Japan for five years, and then around the world on short-term volunteer projects with Christian ministries. In some places the resilience and resourcefulness of her ranch upbringing were especially critically. Twyla’s passion for volunteer service has been a constant throughout her life, whether in Christian ministries or helping her family and friends.

Twyla was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer in November, 2016. Medical interventions provided some reprieves. She entered hospice care in May 2019, and was able to remain in the home she and the family built until her body finally could support her no longer.

Twyla was passionate about sharing God’s love with children, and worked extensively with the Spokane chapter of Child Evangelism Fellowship. In that spirit, the family is coordinating with Child Evangelism Fellowship to accept contributions in memory of Twyla instead of flowers. More information will be provided on the family web site:
http://twyla.frieds.org/CEF

The family has assembled an overview of Twyla’s life and has collected memories shared by some of the people Twyla touched. We invite you to view a simple web site: http://twyla.frieds.org/UI