faithfully through three foreign wars. He recently engaged in a
final battle, this time for his life, and was a forceful opponent to
the lymphoma that had overtaken his 85 year-old body. Despite
his zeal for survival, profound optimism, courage and fierce
resolve to win, he lost this ultimate fight, passing away at Olathe
Medical Center in Kansas City in the presence and comfort of his
loving family, pastor, friends and kind medical staff.
Irish and Cherokee heritage, made his entry to life in
Murphysboro, Illinois He was the first born son of Lena
himself. At age 18, "Frazier" began his military career, first in the United States Navy. September
1946 was another momentous date for him when he married the love of his life, Elizabeth Margaret
Thomsen. He instantly became the entertaining "big brother" to her siblings. Shortly after their
marriage, he was consigned out to the army and spent a little over three years in Greece during the
Greek Civil war against the communists.
Force to spend more time with his family. This allowed him to open many new experiences and
exposure to different aspects of life and cultures, and exciting journeys for them. This included a
four-and-a-half year stay in England and residences in several states. He loved to relate many of his
military tales to his children. One such story was the time he was sitting in a tavern and a young
navy lieutenant walked in and asked if he could join him. They began to chat and Frazier soon
learned that this distinguished naval officer was none other than the famous Henry Fonda. Another
interesting story was when he was serving in Greece and was offered a ride from Greece to Rome by
Admiral Alan G. Kirk, the famous US naval commander during the Normandy landings of 1944 and
subsequent U.S. Ambassador to several countries, including the Soviet Union, and the man who
had the U.S.S. Kirk named in his honor. He recalled how this admiral used to come into his office
and sit on his desk and carry on a casual conversation with him as if he was just "one of the guys."
hesitate to let you know that it was he that invented the "split finger knuckle ball" and that the
professional teams "stole his technique". His favorite team was the St. Louis Cardinals, and he
never missed seeing or listening to a game if he could help it. He also made sure his children knew what the
score was in each game, even when he had to call them long-distance. He also loved animals,
especially birds and dogs. He loved to train his birds to talk and his dogs to "speak". He was
amazed to find that his oldest daughter's Pomeranian, Stevie" actually said "Out" when he needed to
go out. He found cats to be a bit more difficult , but he did manage to train his "grandcat"
Liepschen to follow simple commands while outdoors, unleashed.
as an insurance representative for Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Deciding to do something
completely different he joined a construction company after that, participating in building the
Belleville Illinois Court House. Looking for another exciting adventure, he worked as a deputy
sheriff in Murphysboro, Illinois for ten years. In his 70's, he was finally ready to "retire", and
opened his own lawn business, which he continued until he was 83, beginning in Florida, then in
Corpus Christi and Austin, Texas.
and his wife Song; Elizabeth Gregowicz and her two Catz. He is also survived by six grandchildren
and six great-grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his first wife, Elizabeth Frazier, his brother,
Mr. William Frazier, and his parents.
p.m. on Tuesday, December 30, 2008. Education and learning were important to this brilliant
father and grandfather; to foster his lasting legacy, any donations made to the funeral home will be
placed in a special educational fund for "Frazier's" grandchildren.