Jimmy "Jim" Russell Frazier

Jimmy (Jim) Russell Frazier, 67, of Norman, Oklahoma, died on April 6, 2022, in his home under
hospice care. He was a beloved husband, father, brother, and friend.
Jim was born in 1955 in Drumright, Oklahoma, to Loren Russell Frazier and Leta Irene (Cook)
Frazier. The second of four children, Jim excelled at school. He helped with the chores at home,
including feeding the chickens and climbing under the house to access the stores of potatoes.
He also loved sports and played baseball and basketball. The family took regular fishing trips to
Heyburn Lake and hunting trips to the Kiamichi Mountains. Loren taught Jim how to build things
and figure out how they worked. Leta taught him a deep care for other people.
Jim flourished at Drumright High School and graduated in 1973 as the head boy, class
president, and co-captain of the basketball team. In two high school basketball games, he shot
over 30 points. The first in his family to go to college, he attended the University of Oklahoma in
Norman, earning a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering.
In 1980, he married Patricia (Trish) Payton Frazier, whom he had met at OU, and they settled in
Norman. Jim and Trish had a loving partnership, supporting each other through losing their
parents, Trish going back to school and starting a career, and the everyday ups and downs of
life. Jim and Trish had two children, Jeffrey and Caitlin. Jim was an active father, playing with
wooden block sets when the kids were young and taking them to Little League games when
they were older. He was always working on a project and brought Jeffrey and Caitlin along for
the ride, building a dog house, refinishing furniture, or designing and building an extension to
the house. He seemed to know how everything worked. He would rather take an entire car
apart, just to replace a small part, than pay someone else to do it.
Jim didn’t think of himself as being very funny, but he had a great sense of humor. He loved to
laugh and was the kind of person you’d want to have at a dinner party, always ready to have a
good time. The family had several beloved dogs over the years. Jim’s initial pet policy was no
dogs in the house, then it was no dogs upstairs, then no dogs on the bed. By 2018, Jim was
carrying the family’s shih tzu mix, Betsy, around like a baby.
Jim loved sports of all kinds, especially basketball, softball, baseball, and golf. He was an avid
University of Oklahoma fan, and would sometimes pull his recliner right up to the television
screen to watch Sooner football games. In his later years, he discovered a love of golf, happily
spending a “beautiful day on the course” three or four times a week.
Jim’s first job was at Bergey Windpower in Norman, working alongside his close college friends
Farrel Droke and Mike Bergey on developing wind turbines. Later Jim moved to Burford
Corporation in Maysville, Oklahoma, working on industrial baking equipment. He also worked at
Organon Teknika on medical testing equipment.
Jim joined the Episcopal Church after he and Trish married. He was active at St. John's Church
in Norman, and served as head usher until just a few days before he died. He participated in the
men’s group, served on the vestry, and met many of his best friends at the church. Jim was also a dedicated blood donor, donating to the Oklahoma Blood Institute 77 times. Jim and Trish had
fun in their later years traveling to Europe, Alaska, and Mexico. When Trish became sick and
later needed a lung transplant, she could not have asked for a better partner than Jim, who
helped navigate medical bureaucracy and took on most of the household tasks. Trish died in
September 2019.
Jim was also preceded in death by his parents, Loren Russell Frazier and Leta Irene Cook of
Drumright, Oklahoma. He is survived by his two brothers and one sister, as well as their
spouses, Jerry and Janet Frazier of Owasso, Oklahoma, Joe and Jane Frazier of Drumright,
Oklahoma, and Tim and Judy Emmert of Tulsa, Oklahoma; his son, Jeffrey Frazier, and his
daughter-in-law, Alison Frauenglass, of New York City; his daughter, Caitlin Frazier of Austin,
Texas, and her partner, Adam Felder of Charlottesville, Virginia; and numerous extended family
members.
The funeral service will be at 10:00 am on May 23rd at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Norman.
Masks will be required. In lieu of flowers, please make memorial donations to the Norman Public
Schools Foundation. These funds will be designated for STEM projects, in honor of Jim’s career
as an engineer and volunteer work in schools. Mark donations in memory of Jim Frazier. Online
donations can be made at: https://www.normanpublicschools.org/foundation. Choose the option
that says "In Memory of” and fill in “Jim Frazier.” Checks may also be sent to the Norman Public
School Foundation, 131 S. Flood Avenue, Norman, Oklahoma 73069. Please note “In memory
of Jim Frazier” in the memo line.