Meet Our Staff - Manteca, CA

Ken Summers

Managing Partner

Ken's great-grandfather and grandfather, P.L. Fry and Paul Fry, started the P.L. Fry & Son Funeral Home in Manteca in 1932. Ken became manager after his grandmother, Lucille O. Fry, retired. Ken is a Licensed Funeral Director, Licensed Crematory Manager and Licensed Cemetery Manager. He was raised in Manteca his entire life and is a 1977 graduate of East Union High School and also a graduate Delta Junior College. Ken is married to his wife, Lynne and has two adult children, Kara and Kenny, and two special grandsons, Grant and Owen.

“The goodwill and reputation of P.L. Fry & Son has always been regarded as second to none.”

"Our guiding principles are built on honesty, integrity and quality in all we do."

Charla Ortiz

Funeral Arranger

Charla is the great-niece of the late Lucille O. Fry. She has been employed by P.L. Fry & Son Funeral Service since January 2001. She was born and raised in Manteca and graduated from Manteca High School with the class of 1990. Charla is married to Rick, and together they have one daughter, three sons and two granddaughters, Lily and Raelynn.  She stays busy traveling back and fourth to Texas to visit her granddaughter Lily. Charla supports many organizations in her community and serves on the committee for the Every 15 Minute Drunk Driving Program through the Manteca Police Department and CHP.  As a hobby, Charla, her mom and daughter are breeders of Shih Tzu puppies. Her passion is planning unique special events, traveling, and spending as much time with her family as possible.

Alma Ochoa

Funeral Arranger

Alma was born and raised in Manteca, California. She is a member of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Lathrop. Alma has been a part of the P.L. Fry & Son family serving families since 2009. She enjoys spending time with her boys and attending community events.  Alma has been in the floral industry for over 20 years and still designs and creates beautiful masterpieces. She looks forward to getting Facetime calls from her son who is currently serving in the United States Navy.

Cathy Sanders

Funeral Arranger/Notary Public

Cathy grew up in San Jose and met her husband, Chad, while in high school. She worked as a Paralegal at a Bay Area Law Firm before settling down to raise a family. In June, 2001, Chad and her moved from San Jose to Manteca. They have three amazing children who are all active in various sports, including cheer, swim, baseball, football, track and cross country. Cathy has been involved in all their activities, both in the classroom and outside the classroom,  including serving on the Boards of Northgate Little League and MYSA. Her best days are spent on the sidelines of her kids games cheering them on. In what free time she has, she loves watching football and reading. She is honored to be a part of the P.L. Fry & Son family. 

Tiffany Perez

Administrative Secretary/Notary Public

Tiffany was born in Martinez, California and graduated from Alhambra High School. She received an A.A. degree from Diablo Valley College and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from Sacramento State University. She married her husband John Perez in 2000, and they now have nine amazing children. Having a large family has become the most thrilling and adventurous thing she has ever been a part of. Besides being a busy mother and wife, Tiffany is also a faithful member of Central Valley Baptist Church. She is also a JV Softball coach for Sierra High School where she truly loves being able to share her passion for the sport with other girls. In her spare time, she loves spending time outdoors with her family camping and enjoying their various range of sports they are involved in. She loves the caring and professional atmosphere at P.L. Fry & Son Funeral Home and looks forward to a lasting partnership.

Sandra Fry Gilbeau

Bereavement Facilitator

Sandra is the daughter of Paul and Lucille Fry and mother of Ken Summers. Sandra also has two daughters, nine grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Sandra was born and raised in Manteca and is a graduate of Manteca High School. She earned her her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from California State University, Stanislaus. Sandra has been facilitating bereavement classes for P.L. Fry & Son since 1999 and works with Community Hospice of Modesto. Having been widowed twice and lost many loved ones over the years, she has the understanding and compassion for the people in each of her groups. Sandra is a member of St. Paul’s Methodist Church, the Manteca Historical Society, and the American Cancer Society.

Michelle Weiler

Administrative Assistant

Michelle was born in Redwood City and grew up in Lathrop, graduating from Lathrop High School in 2013. With her love of education, Michelle holds three Associates Degrees and recently received her B.A degree through Stanislaus State University, majoring in Sociology with a concentration in Human Services. Michelle has worked in the funeral industry since 2017 and has been with P.L. Fry Funeral Services since early 2019. She absolutely loves working with families and feels that the P.L .Fry staff is her second family. She aspires to one day obtain her Funeral Director’s License because with her kind spirit and passion of wanting to help others, Michelle feels her purpose in life lies in this profession by helping families while thoughtfully caring for their loved ones. She is hoping in the future that P.L. Fry will adopt an emotional support animal for the grieving families she tends to daily; she feels this would make a great addition to the staff and the surrounding communities. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her fiancé Jared, listening to podcasts, music, and cuddling with her fur babies.

Katie Vera-Cruz

Prearrangement Counselor

Katie is the great-great-niece of the late Lucille O. Fry. She was born and raised in Manteca and is a 2011 graduate of Manteca High School. Katie married Francisco in October, 2020 and welcomed their first daughter Raelynn in August 2021. She has been employed by P.L. Fry & Son Funeral Services since 2018 and previously with the Catholic Diocese, managing St. John’s Catholic Cemetery, Escalon, Ca. She has over 8 years of experience understanding both the cemetery side and the funeral side of the industry. Katie has found a new appreciation serving families, prearranging their final wishes with both cremation and burial. She has been volunteering with the local E-15 programs for the past 15 years advocating against drunk driving. She enjoys community events, meeting new people, planning family events, traveling and wine tasting with friends.   

Kenny Summers

Funeral Attendant

Kenny is a 5^th generation Great-Grandson of Pearson L. Fry and Great-Grandson of Lucille O. Fry. He was born and raised in Manteca and recently bought his first house in Escalon. He graduated from Manteca High School in 2010 and went on to receive his bachelor's degree in Business from California State University Stanislaus in 2015. Kenny has officially been an employee since 2014 , working part-time and recently went full time in 2020. It is an honor for him to be a part of the rich tradition that P.L. Fry and Son stands for and loves being able to help those in need. Kenny enjoys spending time with his girlfriend and family. He also loves the Sacramento Kings, live music, the beach, and pizza.

Ramon Gonzales

Funeral Attendant

Ramon Gonzales was born and raised in Manteca, attending Manteca High School and graduating in 1981. He received his degree in Business Management in 1984. He is married to Sherry, and together they have eight grandchildren who they adore. At the young age of 16, Ramon started his first job at New Deal Market in Manteca, where he grew to love the grocery business; twenty years later, Ramon retired as a Grocery Manager working at various super markets. He is musically inclined; playing the saxophone, drums and the congas. Ramon’s passions include taking road trips on his Harley, camping and  boating with his wife and friends, and he absolutely loves his English Bulldog, Chubbs.

Greg Clowes

Funeral Attendant

Greg was born and raised in Manteca; he attended local elementary schools and graduated from Sierra High Class of 2007. While at Sierra, he enjoyed being involved with JROTC Flags Over Manteca and the community blood drives. Greg has been in the funeral industry since 2011 and is honored to now serve his own community. Greg is a self-proclaimed “nerd” who loves Anime and playing video games.   He has two children, Haylee and Atticus, and is proud to be raising them in his hometown of Manteca with his soulmate, Vanessa.

Veronica Murillo

Funeral Attendant

Affectionately known as "Roni," Veronica grew up in Lathrop and attended Sierra High School and graduated from BeTech High School in 2018. Roni is currently on a spiritual journey of becoming a Catholic and is attending catechism classes at St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Manteca. Outside of work and school, Roni enjoys trying new restaurants, singing, listening to "oldies," and spending time with her family. She hopes to pursue a career as an embalmer or funeral director.

Matthew J. Garcia

Funeral Attendant

Matt was born and raised in Salinas, California as the middle child of two sisters, Felicia and Crystal. He graduated from Salinas High School in 2019 where he worked with the Monterey County Sheriff's Department and the Salinas Police Department explorer posts out of school. In 2020, he moved to his family owned property in Manteca. Matt is an avid automotive enthusiast and enjoys fish keeping, gardening, traveling and fine dining. He aspires to obtain his Funeral Director's and Embalmer's license. 

"I am proud to be part of the PL Fry & Son family and I am honored to have the privilege to serve & support families through their times of loss."

Norma Orozco

Certified Funeral Celebrant

Norma was raised in Manteca, attended local elementary schools and graduated from Manteca High.  In 2017 after 30 years of public service, she retired as a Deputy Purchasing Agent with the County of San Joaquin.  After retirement she wanted to continue in a service related role, which she is blessed and honored to have found as a member of the PL Fry & Son Funeral Home family.  In 2018, she was certified by the InSight Institute as a Funeral Celebrant. Norma is married to Steve Orozco and she has two awesome adult step-children, Kelcy and Alex.  Norma and Steve both enjoy running, camping, traveling, spending quality time with family and friends, and spoiling their dogs.  Norma is a life long parishioner at Saint Anthony’s Catholic Church where she is actively involved as a Music Minister, Lector and Eucharistic Minister to the sick and homebound.

Rev. Bill Barnett

Funeral Attendant

Bill retired from active Pastoral ministry after 42 years. He still enjoys serving families in many capacities and especially in times of loss.  Bill is blessed with a wife and family and his three granddaughters are a source of great joy.