Marielyn Emily Frazier

Marielyn Emily Arntzen Frazier, age 91, passed away March 2, 2015. Marielyn was born October 3, 1923, in Chicago, Illinois, to Robert and Alice (Thomsen) Arntzen. She grew up in a Norwegian-Danish Lutheran family with her sister, Alice. She graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in chemistry and elementary education, because she knew there may not be many jobs for women in science. While volunteering at the USO on the Navy Pier in Chicago, she met Howard Frazier, and they were married in January 1945 in Chicago. They moved to Bellingham, where Howard grew up, in 1946. She did post-graduate work at Western Washington University, and her daughters remember going to Campus School in the summer and playing on the playground that is now Red Square. Marielyn taught school in Bellingham at Franklin Elementary and at Parkview Elementary when it was a brand new school. She taught 3rd and 5th grades, then became the reading teacher and librarian. Marielyn was a charter member of Faith Lutheran Church (Sunday school teacher and superintendent) and the Bellingham chapter of Alpha Delta Kappa (teachers’ sorority). She also was a Past President of Sons of Norway Wergeland Lodge. She and Howard volunteered at Holden Village for 14 years and snow-birded to Yuma, Arizona, for 18 years. They had the foresight to purchase land on the Lummi Peninsula in the 1950s, build a little cabin in the 1960s, and thereby provide their immediate and extended families and many friends with great memories of “the beach” to this day. She enjoyed counted cross-stitch, Hardanger stitchery, crossword and Sudoku puzzles, and reading and knitting. She made countless number of knit hats that she gave to Pastor Jim to give to people at the cold weather shelter at Faith. Her daughters saved the last two batches of hats, and everyone at the beach enjoys a warm hat as the summer nights get cool around the campfire. As her eyesight failed with aging, she still enjoyed listening to books on CD and working large-print Sudoku. Her mind was sharp until the end, and she knew her schedule to a T. She was preceded in death by her parents and by her husband, Howard, in 2002. She is survived by her daughters — Alice (Mike) Parmentola of Inglewood, CA; Linda Snider of Seattle; Joanne (David) Barry of Tacoma; Elizabeth (John) Kamrar of Bellingham; her grandchildren — Stephanie Kamrar of Tucson, AZ; Paul Kamrar (Shannon Deem) of Seattle; Nicholas (Jennifer) Barry of Kent; Christopher (Bethany) Barry of Springfield, IL; Katherine (Adam) Peterson of Reno, NV: William Barry of Tacoma; her great-grandchildren – Lillian Barry; Faith, Lydia, Evelyn, Gwen Barry; Mildred and Aida Peterson.; her sister Alice Michels of New Richmond, WI; her nephews and their families — Matt (Katy) Michels of Palm Harbor, FL; Tom Michels (Ron Boldt) of New Richmond, WI; Neil (Kathie) Michels of Prior Lake, MN; cousins – Sandy (Bob) Roy of Concord, OH: Barb Rice of Willoughby, OH; Kathy Rice of Sanibel, FL; sisters-in-law – Mary Nero of Christchurch, New Zealand, and Esther Noteboom of Sunnyside, WA; brother-in-law Donald Frazier of Renton, WA; and fifteen Frazier nieces and nephews and their families. The family would like to thank her wonderful caregivers over the last several years: Esther, Jen, Heather, Landa, Kaye, Etta, Jamie, and the staff at Mt Baker Care Center (too numerous to mention). She treasured all of you. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to: The USO, PO Box 96860, Washington, DC, 20077; Holden Village, HC 0 Box 2, Chelan, WA 98816; or Faith Lutheran Church, 2750 McLeod Road, Bellingham, WA 98225. A memorial service will be held on Monday, March 23, 2015, at 11:30 a.m. at Faith Lutheran Church.

Marielyn Emily Frazier

October 3, 1923 - March 2, 2015