Douglas Gene Rye's Obituary
Douglas Gene Rye, 78, of Fayetteville, AR passed away on December 18, 2020 after a courageous battle with cancer. He was born on September 10, 1942 in Fort Smith, AR to Glenn and Anna Farmer Rye. He graduated from Fort Smith High School in 1960 and went on to attend the University of Arkansas. While attending the U of A, he played trumpet in the Razorback Marching Band and later became The Voice of the Razorback Marching Band. Upon graduating from the University of Arkansas School of Architecture in 1967, he became a licensed Architect. In his early career, he worked for architecture firms in Tulsa, Jonesboro, and for Warren Seagraves in Fayetteville. He later became the State Architect for Farmers Home Administration (FmHA) where he helped low-income families obtain affordable housing. After 20 years at FmHA, he worked as an energy consultant and formed Doug Rye & Associates in Little Rock. Energy consulting was not only his job, it was also his passion. He loved teaching people how to build comfortable homes with low utilities. He presented his seminars nationwide and entitled them “If you build a new house with high energy costs, it’s your own cotton-pickin’ fault.” He also hosted the national call-in radio show “Home Remedies” every Saturday morning for 28 years. He authored the monthly article “Doug Rye Says” for the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas Rural Arkansas magazine.
He enjoyed sports and loved to fish and hunt. He accepted Christ as his Savior at an early age at Calvary Baptist Church in Van Buren. He served his Lord and church faithfully throughout his life as a Deacon, Music and Youth Leader, and Sunday School teacher.
He was a devoted family man, husband, father, and grandfather. He was preceded in death by his parents, stepfather (William Ezra Farrar), and a sister (Glenna Rye Schimmel and husband Jim). He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Phyllis Weeks Rye; daughter, April Rye Shy (Craig) of Fayetteville, AR; son, Phillip Douglas Rye (April Brown Rye) of Benton, AR; 6 grandchildren: Madison and Savannah Rye; Jordan, Payton, Audrey, and Austin Douglas Shy; aunt, Bettye Rye Bassham (Steve) of Rogers, AR; niece, Julia Schimmel Hughes (Philip) of Cleveland, OK; two great nieces, three great great nieces, two great great nephews, several cousins, and many friends.
He was a member of First Baptist Church, Fayetteville, AR. A graveside service will be held on Monday, December 21, 2020 at 1:00pm at Fairview Memorial Gardens, 1728 E. Mission Blvd., Fayetteville, AR. The family requests that guests wear masks and practice social distancing.
Memorials may be made to: The Gideons International, P.O. Box 3022, Fayetteville, AR 72702; Arkansas Children’s Hospital Foundation, P.O. Box 2222, Little Rock, AR 72203-9984; Arkansas Children’s Hospital Foundation Northwest, P.O. Box 2207, Lowell, AR 72745.
To sign the online guest book, visit Nelson-Berna Funeral Home at www.nelsonberna.com.
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