Pamela Louise Fryman Ishmael

Pamela Louise Fryman Ishmael, 58, of Nicholas County, wife of Carl Edward Ishmael, passed away Wednesday, July 8, 2026 at UK-St. Claire Medical Center in Morehead.
Born December 10, 1967 in Nicholas County to the late John Wm. “Pete” and Lucy Evelyn Fryman, she was an employee of Harrison Memorial Hospital in Cynthiana, and a former employee of Johnson-Mathers Healthcare in Carlisle and Bloomington Hospital in Bloomington, Indiana. She dedicated her life to helping others. Pam loved her family above all and was most proud of Briana and Areyona.
Additional survivors include two daughters, Dr. Briana Ishmael and Areyona Ishmael, both of Morehead; a brother, Wendell Dale Fryman; two sisters, Patricia (Stanley) Frederick and Christy Flora; a brother-in-law, Jack T. Fryman, all of Nicholas County, and a large extended family.
Also preceding her in death were a brother, Aubrey Wayne Fryman, and a sister, Carolina Fryman.
Services will be at 11:00 A.M. Tuesday, July 14th at Mathers-Gaunce Funeral Home by Bro. Tony Smith with burial following in Carlisle Cemetery. Visitation will be 5:00 P.M. Monday.
From her husband, Carl: “Pam cared for the sick and held the hands of those who were dying. She held a special place in her heart for the ones that had no one else and did not want them to die alone. She would come home in tears at times and mourn for the ones she lost that day. I asked her why she did it and she would say “because I like doing it and it’s the right thing to do.”
Pam loved her coworkers and was always ready to help. She would go to work when she felt bad or when she was having a bad day because, in her words, “it was the right thing to do and she didn’t want to cause an extra workload for the nurses and CNAs.”
She would pack extra snacks to share at work. Sometimes she would even raid my candy stash (which I would usually find out at a later time) to take with her to share because in her words, “she liked to do it and it was the right thing to do.”
We would go shopping and have to pick up various scented body wash that she would take to work for her patients instead of using that wonderful hospital provided soap. She especially liked taking the wild cherry blossom scented body wash which was a hit with her patients and was her favorite that she used at home. I can still hear her voice from time to time when she was getting ready for work, “Carl did you use the last of my body wash?” Of course, I would promptly deny it.
There came a point due to her illness when she was too tired to go shopping with me, but she still wanted to go to work. She would always tell me to pick up more body wash and snacks for her to take to share, because, in her words, “she liked to do it and it was the right thing to do.”
Every hand she held to comfort the dying is another soul that will greet her in heaven and there will surely be a very large crowd to greet her. She touched so many lives and made them better by doing the things however small or large that she could. She didn’t do it for money, she didn’t do it for praise, she did it because, in her words, she liked doing it and it was the right thing to do. While a part of my soul died with her on July 8th, I know there was a huge celebration in heaven greeting her.
I hope that those who knew her will do something for someone else, not for money, not for praise but in memory of Pam because, as she would put it, “it’s the right thing to do”. I love you always and I hope to see you again.”