Retired Pilot photographer Mort Fryman, remembered for his work and his heart, has died

Shelby Fryman said it was appropriate that her husband, Mort, was born on Valentine’s Day.

“He truly was a sweetheart,” she said Wednesday. “Such a sweet guy.”

Myron “Mort” Fryman, 74, a retired Virginian-Pilot photographer, died in his sleep Tuesday. He left The Pilot in 2009 after nearly 40 years of adding his poignant touch to Navy homecomings, holiday parades and portraits of people in Hampton Roads.

Fryman was born in Carlisle, Kentucky, and joined the Navy, where he taught himself how to shoot pictures. He left the service and worked as a laborer but would go to a TV station and bug the manager about a job as a cameraman. Shelby Fryman said she believes the guy got so tired of her husband that he told him about an opening at The Pilot just to get rid of him.

Mort Fryman started at The Pilot in 1971 as a technician in the photo lab. He then volunteered to take assignments and eventually landed his dream job.

“Mort Fryman was a man with a good heart and compassion for the people he photographed,” said Bill Tiernan, another retired Pilot photographer. “He always made photographs that told stories, whether the assignment was for news, features or sports. He was something of a street photographer, finding the humor and drama in the everyday events.”

Mort will be remembered and missed by his family, his friends and, always, his Pilot family.