Obituary: C. Scott Fry

On Sept. 22, 2026, Juneau lost one of its most colorful characters. Musician, lover, iconoclast and social event organizer Carl Scott Fry was better known as the “mayor” of downtown South Franklin. For many years, C. Scott Fry was present in almost every major social event dealing with music and revelry in downtown Juneau. We remember him as he sat at his special corner, where he would nurse his Jim Beam and Beck’s while holding vigil over the centenarian revelry at the Alaskan Bar. His last few years were spent in the company of his close friend, Mike Franklin, in Weatherford, Texas.

C. Scott Fry was born on Oct. 3, 1964, in Mt. Vernon, Ohio. As a young lad, he moved around a lot because his father spent 22 years in the Coast Guard, only retiring at the rank of commander in 1986. C. Scott Fry went to Alaska for the first time in 1976 with his family, returning to California the following year. There he met a musician and learned to play guitar when he was still in high school in Huntington Beach, California. The itinerant lifestyle, as part and parcel to his father’s service in the Coast Guard, meant meeting many different kinds of people with sundry views. This is where Scotty got his social skills from, and it prepared him for what life had in store. 

After graduating, he played music and did odd jobs for a couple of years, but hungered for the wild frontier that he had visited growing up. In 1984, C. Scott Fry headed for Alaska once more, but this time a born-again musician seeking adventure. It wasn’t long before Scotty discovered the Alaskan Bar and started playing gigs there, first on open mic Thursday night, but later with some of the various bluegrass and folk music groups, playing upright bass. It was there that Scotty met a person who would become very important to his life. Jack O’Hara was a mercurial man who was looking for a way to get out from under the oppressive task of managing the staff and the books at the Alaskan Hotel and Bar. Jack recognized Scotty’s popularity and place in downtown culture as an asset, but he was even more interested in Scotty’s natural intelligence and keen eye for detail. Jack was looking for more than a bar manager; he wanted to train a replacement who could help out with the books and oversee the more fickle elements of the business. His signature generous nature and calming voice made him a natural leader among the staff at the Alaskan Hotel and Bar, where he ascended to bookkeeper, and eventually general manager. Gifted with natural intelligence and social finesse, Scotty kept decorum such that his public graces were without equal; he could close the bar without making anyone feel left out. When things got strange, C. Scott Fry was the guy we all looked to. He always saw the best in everyone, and tried to ignore the worst. Scotty was accessible and cool-under-fire in a way that put our troubles on mute. He could make off-handed comments that somehow lowered the temperature of a conflict. Even when something went very wrong, he would say something like, “don’t sweat the small stuff.” 

C. Scott Fry loved music most of all, and played in so many Juneau bands that whenever a local group split up or got back together again, it was often referred to as “Scotty’s latest band.” The inroads that he made with musicians and artists across the state made him the centerpiece of downtown Juneau life. Together, with the help of the Ketchikan gals, they transformed the Juneau folk fest after-hours jam scene into a thing of legend. 

Scotty’s life celebration was hosted by the Alaskan Bar, with the help of dear friend, Patricia Kalbrener, during October Artwalk, where the hors d'oeuvres mingled with classic Alaskan cocktails. Friends and family authored tales of the checkered past of the "mayor" of South Franklin. Flowers were brought by Melissa Ramirez, and placed before an early photograph of our dear departed bass player. 

“Scotty” is survived by his mother and father, Sharon Sue Fry and Carl David Fry, residing presently in Murrieta, California. He is also survived by his brother and sister, Thomas Fry and Terri Tackett. C. Scott Fry left this Earth for the jam in the sky, but he’s sure to make unscheduled appearances to play bass with Liz Saya and Don Drew in the haunted halls of the Alaskan Hotel, just as he did during folk fest.