Simsbury Obituary: Helen Frazier, 89

Helen Christine Taylor Frazier, 89, of Avon and Dennis MA, beloved wife of Harold Frazier, died peacefully on November 21 at home with a crackling fire burning in the woodstove beside her.

Born in Toledo OH, on August 7, 1927, she was the daughter of the late John Crichton Taylor and Helen Allison Hodge Taylor. She was educated at Northfield School for Girls and Oberlin College where she met and married Hal in Oberlin's Fairchild Chapel in 1948. In addition, she took graduate courses in Psychology at Kent State University when the family briefly moved to Chagrin Falls OH.

A 46-year resident of Avon, Chris and Hal also lived for many years on Hickory Hill Road in Simsbury while their children were young. She was a president of the Tootin Hills PTA where her children attended elementary school. She was active in Democratic town politics and a member of the Democratic Town Committee, working tirelessly on behalf of John F. Kennedy's campaign. A supporter of the Save the Children Foundation, she also sponsored during these years many families in need.

After returning from the Midwest to Avon, Chris worked at D&L for 27 years. Fondly called "Saint Chris" by many of her fellow employees, she was renowned throughout the store for her ability to work with even the most difficult of customers.

At her retirement in 1997, she became an active volunteer for Meals on Wheels and Loaves and Fishes in Hartford. She also fulfilled her life-long dream of taking tap dancing lessons and singing. She became involved with the Simsbury Senior Center Intonations at Eno Hall; joining with her dear friend of over 60 years from the old Hickory Hill neighborhood, Barbara Reed.

Chris spent every summer of her life on Dennis, Cape Cod. She especially loved Howes Street Beach where she played in the sand as a child, frolicked in the waves as a teenager, taught her children to make drip castles as a young mother and treasured her time spent on the beach with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She loved her beach mornings, sitting with friends including Barbara Tyler with whom she spent many summers solving a winter's worth of Sunday NY Times crossword puzzles. When the dune at Howes Street Beach grew too tall, she and her beach circle of friends and family became regulars at Corporation Beach.

When not on the beach, "Nana" spent hours playing cribbage and gin rummy with her grandchildren and, at night, reading stories and poetry including A.A. Milne and singing her favorite lullaby "The Owl and the Pussycat." She loved the written word and word puzzles of all kinds. Wherever she sat, she surrounded herself with piles of books, magazines, newspapers and newsletters. She was a devotee of Will Shortz's weekend radio puzzle show as well as his Times crossword puzzles. The world stopped for her and her husband between 7 and 7:30pm weekdays when Jeopardy came on.

Besides her parents, Chris was preceded in death by her sister, Dr. Janet Allison Taylor Spence who built a house and lived for 25 years right next door to the cottage in Dennis. She will be greatly missed by her loving husband of 68 years, Harold Robert Frazier; children Jonathan Dennis Frazier of Deerfield NH, Jan Allison Frazier of Chepachet RI and Elizabeth Crichton Frazier (John) Roper of Weatogue, as well as grandchildren Daniel Franklin (Erika Phillips) Roper, Allison Christine Roper (Jeremy) Violette, Samuel Hodge Frazier Rubin, Taylor Hartley Frazier and MacKenzie Gale Frazier; her great-grandchildren Braden Robert Violette, Helen Jean Phillips-Roper and Benjamin Michael Violette.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to The Dennis Memorial Library, 1020 Old Bass River Road, Dennis MA 02638 or Doctors Without Borders, 333 7th Avenue, NYC NY 10001-5004, or The Salvation Army, 855 Asylum Avenue, Hartford CT 06015.

Services will be private held at a later date on Cape Cod.

The Carmon Funeral Home & Family Center of Avon is caring for the arrangements. For condolences or further information please visit www.carmonfuneralhome.com.