Merry Ann Frisby

Crime scene investigator, writer and community supporter

Lina Nissley
ECB Publishing, Inc.

Many who have lived in Monticello and the Jefferson County community know of Merry Ann Frisby – aside from her title as the wife of a former Chief of Police, Frisby has plenty of local claim to fame of her own. In addition to being actively involved in local efforts that support children and education, Frisby is also a loyal local church attendee, a featured writer and a contributor to her community through her work on several local boards.

Merry Ann Frisby grew up in McLean, Va., which can be found just outside of the Washington D.C. area.

As an adult, Frisby became a crime scene detective; this career was launched while she was attending Florida State University (FSU) to study for her Master’s Degree in Physical Anthropology.

While serving as a graduate assistant with the Department of Anthropology at FSU, a local sheriff approached the office with “a bag of bones” to be analyzed, asking for the identity of the bones. Despite the unexpected nature of the situation, Frisby told the officer what she could identify and gave him information about the bones, and then offered to visit the crime scene to help with the excavation process.

This partnership with law enforcement ended up creating a spark that kickstarted the development of a department service at FSU for law enforcement. The college’s Department of Anthropology and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement became aligned from that point on.

Frisby eventually decided to go to school to become a certified law enforcement officer, but in the 1970’s, there were very few women in law enforcement, and Frisby says she was the first woman to become a sworn officer in the Leon County Sheriff’s Department in 1977.

She later began her career in the detective division as a homicide detective to investigate criminal cases. After her time as a law enforcement officer, she went on to serve with the Tallahassee Police Department (TPD) as well as an investigator for the Public Defender's Office.

It was during her career in law enforcement that Merry Ann met her future husband, David Frisby, who was employed as an officer with the TPD. The two would eventually get married and later move to Monticello, where David Frisby would be elected as the Monticello Chief of Police in 1996. This would cement the Frisbys as Monticello locals, and they continue to live locally in their Monticello home.

Today, they continue to celebrate almost 40 years of marriage – during that time they have raised seven children and enjoyed the perks of being grandparents with their 12 grandchildren.

Merry Ann Frisby calls Monticello, “a wonderful place to live.”

Frisby has been a loyal attendant of Christ Episcopal Church since 1982, where she assists with the upkeep and stock of the food pantry.

Frisby says writing is a main interest of hers. Often a guest columnist, her work is regularly featured in both the Monticello News and Tallahassee Democrat. Bird-watching is another interest of Frisby’s.

In addition to her writing, she has also contributed to the community by serving on numerous town boards, including the City Planning Council, and she is involved with the Jefferson County Police Athletic League (PAL) program.