SAMUEL FRAZIER

FRAZIER SAMUEL KINDLEY FRAZIER (Age 80) Died on May 26, 2017. He was born on October 14, 1936 to the late Samuel Kindley Frazier and Mabel Bryant Frazier of High Point, North Carolina. He is survived by his life partner of 27 years, Arthur Raymond Johnson and two younger brothers, David Camden Frazier and Michael Bryant Frazier. He is also survived by two sons, Christopher Andrew Kindley Frazier and David Barratt Frazier; as well as five grandchildren. "Father Sam'", as he was affectionately called, graduated from Broughton High School in Raleigh, North Carolina in June 1955. In May of 1959, he graduated from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. In 1962, he received an STB degree from Berkeley at Yale Divinity School in New Haven, Connecticut. He was ordained by Bishop Richard Baker to the Diaconate on June 29, 1962 and then to the priesthood on June 29, 1963. Upon graduating from seminary, his first church assignment was to serve as vicar of Galloway Memorial Episcopal Church in Elkin, North Carolina. In 1964, he attended the Episcopal Church's General Convention in St. Louis where he arranged to meet Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who believed that Sam, a white priest, could effectively serve residents living in southeast Washington, DC. With Dr. King's encouragement, he was hired by Bishop Paul Moore to serve as vicar of Saint Phillips Episcopal Church, a Black mission church in Washington's Anacostia district where he served from 1965 to 1970. His inner-city ministry included the establishment of the Frederick Douglas United Community Center which served as a community focal point during the riots that followed Dr. King's assassination. Sam's inner-city ministry grew to become a city-wide ministry and resulted in an appointment by Mayor Walter Washington to the District of Columbia Human Relations Commission. In 1970, Sam joined an informal movement that began in France. He was called a 'worker priest', having a full-time secular job while working part-time in the church. His secular jobs included serving as Associate Executive Director of the Washington Urban League, Chief, Office of Public Affairs of the National Capital Planning Commission (a presidential commission) and physician recruiter for KRON Medical and JC Nationwide. In 1976, while working for the Planning Commission and to honor our country's Bicentennial celebration, Sam directed the research and production of a book published by the Smithsonian Press entitled Worthy of the Nation- The Planning and Development of the Nation's Capital. During that same year, Sam published a book of poetry entitled Arriving - Autobiographical Reflections. While working as a physician recruiter, he won an award for earning over a million dollars in profit for the company. In 1985, Sam established two real estate companies to serve the Washington, DC area. During this time, he moved to Antigua, West Indies where he worked in real estate resort development. One of the highlights of Sam's church career was his trip to the 2008 Lambeth Conference in Canterbury, England where he and his life partner, Arthur Johnson, stood in support of gay issues within the Episcopal Church. In 2013, Sam published a book entitled Straight Like Me - the Journey of a Gay Priest in the Episcopal Church. He has also written a novel based on Jeptha, a Biblical character portrayed in the Book of Judges which is being edited and published. Sam was proud of his achievements in life, both personal and professional, but most important to him was the ability to put his skills to use "making a difference". He did this through his church ministry, his community activism, through his position as a physician recruiter as well as through many volunteer organizations such as VOCA Corporation of America that serves individuals with developmental challenges. When not busy with church or volunteer activities, Sam worked on his memoir, poetry or other writings. Sam was not comfortable unless he was busy doing something, but he always had time for those in need. Our home became an extension of his ministry: annual Easter sunrise services on the Haw River, Easter egg hunts, church youth camping in the front lawn facing the Haw River, monthly gatherings of support groups and more. He was a listening ear and counselor, a calm man, not easily angered. Sam was truly gifted with the right words or actions to minister to the needs of others. He loved classical music, singing hymns in church, though not always on pitch. He loved to watch all of the Star Wars, Star Trek and Indiana Jones movies. He particularly liked the opening phrase of each Star Trek episode: "To boldly go where no man has gone before...". He will be missed, not only by me, but by the countless people with whom he shared his talents and his love. A funeral service will be held 1 p.m., Saturday, June 17, 2017 at Christ Church, 120 E. Edenton Street Raleigh, NC 27601. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the SPCA of Wake County, 200 Petfinder Lane Raleigh, NC 27603. Arrangements under the direction of Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, 300 Saint Mary's St., Raleigh, North Carolina.Arrangements under the direction of Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, 300 Saint Mary's St., Raleigh, North Carolina.