John Andrew Frey

John Andrew Frey (August 29, 1929 – August 22, 1997) and Peter Louis Morris (December 29, 1929 - August 29, 2010) are buried together in the gay corner of the Congressional Cemetery, in Washington, D.C.

Early life

John "Jack" Andrew Frey was born on August 29, 1929, the son of George Henry Frey and Marie Berter. Peter Louis Morris was born on December 29, 1929, in Peekskill, New York, the son of Louis Morris and Dorothea Chaplin.

John Frey and Peter Morris while they were both students at Catholic University. Even if fellow students, they met at what was at the time Washington, D.C., most popular gay venues, the Chicken Hut, a piano bar/restaurant on H Street near Lafayette Park. The Mattachine Society sponsored biweekly Sunday afternoon gay dances.

Frey was a Fulbright Scholar. In 1955 he collaborated to The Stylistic Relationship Between Poetry and Prose in the Cántico Espiritual of San Juan de la Cruz, Volumes 52-55. He graduated in 1957 and his thesis was Motif symbolism in the disciples of Mallarmé, which he published in 1969.

Career

John Frey became a professor of Romance Languages at George Washington University. He was a specialist in 19th century French literature, and was an author of books on French symbolism (The aesthetics of the Rougon-Macquart, 1976), Emile Zola, and Victor Hugo (Les Contemplations of Victor Hugo: The Ash Wednesday Liturgy, 1988, and A Victor Hugo Encyclopedia, 1999). He also wrote magazine articles on François-René de Chateaubriand, Honoré de Balzac, Washington Irving, and Andre Gide. Frey criticized the use of medieval imagery in symbolist writing: "The whole representation of the Middle Ages, the captive princess, the enchanted castles, fairies, ghosts, and knights-errants... is oriented towards a sensualism. One is reminded of Swinburne making use of the Pre-Raphaelities in England... It is the cloaking of earthly desires in a mantle of aristocracy, of manor houses, gilded ladies, estates swarming with peacocks and swans, of boat and garden parties, and the perpetual games of love."

Peter Morris was an expert in French cuisine. He was on the Board of Directors of Dignity, a gay Catholic Organization, and co-authored their community cookbook.

Personal life

John Frey and Peter Morris were together 43 years. Frey died on August 22, 1997, Morris died on August 29, 2010. They are buried together at Congressional Cemetery and they tomb are two bench and a table, inviting people to sit and read their inscription: "Us While wandering down the back roads Of my mind I came upon a memory of us Faces garden-fresh blooming and Full of promise. My inner-eye welled up Furrows have etched their way Into our fields of being. What had youth's straightness Now bends and curves into Accommodation. We have become ourselves Not alone, but with each other's Help. On the face of it, youth's bloom Has gone Replaced by hardier stuff Whose roots are deep and all Encompassing. How fortunate we were to Have loved each other then And even more so, to still Love each other Now. Forty-three years together Is not enough But we will be together again. John Andrew Frey August 29, 1929 August 22, 1997 Peter Louis Morris December 29, 1929 August 29, 2010 In Memory of our Parents George Henry Frey Marie Berter Frey Louis Morris Sr. Dorothea Chaplin Morris And our pets, Bucky, Pudgy, Major, Jelp I II, Rosh I II III, Franah I II, Mime I II, Madame"