Joseph Bacon Fraser Jr.

Joseph Bacon Fraser, Jr. 1926-2014After a long illness, Joseph B. Fraser Jr. of Hilton Head Island, SC passed away peacefully on Thursday, March 13, 2014. He was born on January 27, 1926 in Hinesville, Georgia the son of Lt. General Joseph B. Fraser and Pearl Collins Fraser. Following military service in the U.S. Army during WWII, he graduated from the University of Georgia with a B.S. in Marketing. After college, he joined his father in the family lumber business and was sent to Hilton Head Island, SC to manage the company's timber harvesting operation on Hilton Head Island, SC. After returning to Hinesville, Georgia and establishing Fraser Supply Company and Fraser Homebuilders, he returned to Hilton Head Island in 1964 and founded Sea Pines Homebuilders to construct custom homes in the new Sea Pines Plantation. In 1965 he moved his young family to the Island. He joined his brother Charles at the Sea Pines Plantation Company in 1968, and over the next ten years led a very talented team of land planners, architects, engineers and construction managers as they developed some of the finest large scale resort and second home communities in North America including Sea Pines Plantation, Hilton Head Plantation, River Hills, Amelia Island, Palmas de Mar and Kiawah Island. The Sea Pines Team was recognized nationally as the preeminent large-scale resort community developer when it received the "Citation For Excellence in Private Community Planning" awarded by the American Institute of Architects. He is widely credited with being instrumental in keeping the Heritage golf tournament on Hilton Head Island and establishing the Heritage Classic Foundation in the 1987 as a 501(c )(3) non-profit organization. This form of host organization became the model for the PGA TOUR. Under his leadership as Chairman until his retirement in 2006, the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing and the Heritage Classic Foundation thrived donating millions of dollars to charity and creating one of the most popular stops on the PGA TOUR. Among his many services and accolades, he was a member of St. Luke's Church and recognized as Citizen of the Year by Hilton Head Island's Presbyterian Men of the Church. He served on the South Carolina Parks, Recreation and Tourism Board, was the first president of the Hilton Head Island Homebuilders Association and was a member of the South Carolina Housing Hall of Fame. He also was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the University of South Carolina Beaufort. He was Selectman Emeritus of the Midway Church and Society and a member of the St. Andrews Society of Savannah Georgia and a Grand Marshall of the Hilton Head Island St. Patrick's Day Parade. He was preceded in death by his first wife Carolyn Bexley Fraser, his brother Charles E. Fraser and grandson Daniel West Fraser. He is survived by his wife Jean O'Keeffe Fraser who he married in February 1989, and his children Joseph B. Fraser III (Alice) of Bluffton, SC, J. Simon Fraser (Marilyn) of Hilton Head Island, SC, J. West Fraser (Helena) of Charleston, SC, Charles B. Fraser (Linda) of Hilton Head Island, SC and Carolyn B. Fraser of Charleston, SC, and by his ten grandchildren Elizabeth Laffitte (Spann), Clermont Ripley (Al), Jay Fraser (Laura), Alex Fraser (Charlotte), Sarah Fraser, Elliott Fraser, Andrew Fraser, Rebecca Fraser, Carson Fraser, and Benjamin Fraser, and by great granddaughters Lowndes and Lucy Laffitte. Joe is also loved and respected by Jean's four daughters, Lorilyn Davis (Ronnie) of Winterville, NC, Holly Brower (Jon) of Winston-Salem, NC, Kimberly Edenfield of Hilton Head Island, SC, and Catherine Johan (Paul) of Tampa, FL; and his step grandchildren Shelby Brower, Seth Edenfield, Whit Edenfield, Carter Johan, Christopher Johan, Luke Davis, and step great grandson Eli Edenfield, all of whom affectionately called him "Papa Joe". The family of Joe Fraser wish to thank the many caregivers and staff at Bloom at Belfair, Right at Home, and Tidewater Hospice for their kindness and care of Papa Joe over the last 12 months. There will be a Memorial Service at St. Luke's Church, 50 Pope Avenue at 3:00 pm on Monday, March 17, 2014. Memorials in honor of Joe Fraser Jr. may be made to; either St. Luke's Church, 50 Pope Avenue (Hilton Head Is., SC) or the Boys and Girls Club First Tee Project, 151 Gum Tree Road, Hilton Head Is., SC 29926. The Island Funeral Home and Crematory is in charge of arrangements. www.theislandfuneralhome.com