Gail Frazer, who most of you knew as Margaret Frazer, passed in her sleep on February 4th, 2013.

OBITUARY – TRIBUTES

This website will continue to be maintained and updated by her sons, Justin and Seth, to keep you updated on our continued efforts to share her amazing legacy with the world.

I’m taking a moment to archive and index the various tributes, memoriams, and obituaries which have been written and posted about my mother over the past two weeks. If you know of any others, please take a moment to comment. Of course, many people are still commenting on her Facebook fan page, too. In the near future, I’m hoping to scan some of the printed media and get it posted here as well.

During her memorial service, many of the comments posted here and on her Facebook fan page were read aloud over the music of “Non nobis, Domine” by Patrick Doyle (from Branagh’s Henry V). I would have liked to have read them all, but there were simply too many of them. But although many of you could not be there in the flesh, I wanted you to know that your thoughts were in the room with all of us and they moved us to tears. Thank you.

FEATURED ARTICLES

Star Tribune

Post Bulletin

Pioneer Press

Sharon Kay Penman: “Margaret Frazer, In Memoriam”

(Please note that all of the newspaper articles contain errors of fact. Most notably, my mother died on February 4th, not January 28th. Oddly that error occurred despite the article being written in direct response to an obituary which correctly listed the date. This sort of thing reminds one, as my 6th grade teacher Joe Stannich would have said, to read other news reports with a skeptical and critical eye.)

OBITUARIES & GUEST BOOKS

Obituary at Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)

Obituary at the Post Bulletin (Rochester, MN)

Obituary at the Star Courier (Kewanee, IL)

Obituary at Crescent Tide Funeral Services

OTHER SITES

Richard III Society of NSW

Mystery Fanfare Announcement

Galleycat Announcement

Minnpost Announcement

– Justin

My name is Justin Alexander. I am Margaret Frazer’s son.

I’m afraid there is no easy way to say this: Gail Frazer, who most of you knew as Margaret Frazer, passed in her sleep last night. I would like you to know that she was comfortable and at peace, and that she was among family and friends until the end.

In the days to come, I will be attempting to communicate additional information through both her Facebook page and here at her website about her life, her literary legacies, and her final messages. For the moment, however, all I can offer is her obituary.

GAIL LYNN FRAZER

who wrote under the pen name of “Margaret Frazer”, passed away on Monday night at the age of 66. She is survived by her two sons (Justin Alexander and Seth Gupton), her loving daughters-in-law, and the enduring legacy of her award-winning and nationally bestselling novels and stories.

Twenty years ago, Frazer’s first novel – The Novice’s Tale – was published the same summer that she was first diagnosed with breast cancer. She published her twenty-fifth novel – The Circle of Witches – last December at a time when she was struggling with the fifth recurrence of the cancer. She fought long, she fought stubbornly, and she refused to be defined by the disease which ultimately claimed her life. In her work, she sought the unique pleasure of thoroughly exploring the otherwhen and otherwhere.

Frazer grew up in Kewanee, IL, the daughter of Fred and Grace Brown. Her father was a labor attorney and later mayor; her mother was a proud homemaker. Frazer discovered a love of theater and her future husband with the Genesius Guild in Rock Island, IL. She appeared in theatrical productions throughout her life, including essentials roles on the Guthrie Stage and most recently as part of the Complete Readings of William Shakespeare with the American Shakespeare Repertory.

She will be interred at Prairie Oaks Memorial Eco Gardens in Inver Grove Heights, MN, amidst the nature and vast open vistas that she loved so dearly during her life. On February 8^th there will be a Visitation at 11 AM and a memorial service at 12 PM at the Fort Snelling Memorial Chapel (1 Federal Drive, Minneapolis). Donations in memorial to Heifer International. For further information, contact Crescent Tide Funeral Services (www.crescenttide.com, 651-315-8214).

Link to obituary at the Star Tribune’s website, including online guestbook.

– Justin