Frazier Paige Colon, age 84, died peacefully at home surrounded by family in Vineyard Haven on Friday, May 11, 2018, after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Frazier was born in Athol on March 28, 1934, to Percy Leland Colon and Katherine Paige Colon. Frazier’s mother loved horses, and had him riding before he was 2 years old; this was the beginning of a lifelong love of horses shared with his mother. In 1953, the two competed in the Woodstock Trail Ride, a two-day 100-mile event in Vermont, where competitors were judged on the condition of both horse and rider. Mother won the lightweight division, and Frazier won the heavyweight division.
The family often spent summers in North Falmouth with Frazier’s grandparents, Frazier and Cora, whom Frazier also adored. Frazier often attributed his love of sailing and the ocean to his summers on the Cape.
Frazier graduated from Athol High School in 1952, Norwich University with a BSME in 1956, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) with an MSME in 1968.
While at Norwich, he took up the clarinet, practicing daily and joining the university marching band. He loved to recount how, as U.S. Army reservists, they spent much time peeling potatoes. It was also in college that he met Katharine Carr, an Oak Bluffs native, on a blind date. After four years of persistent courting, the two were married at St Andrew’s Church in Edgartown in 1960.
Following graduation from Norwich, Frazier moved to Allis-Chalmers in Milwaukee, Wis., for a training program. After he and Katharine were engaged, the couple moved back to New England, and Frazier began his graduate work at WPI. During his graduate years, Frazier worked as an assistant at Alden Hydraulics Laboratory. He also spent time at the Technical University of Glasgow in Scotland, where he supervised a series of model studies associated with plans to carry water over the Tehachapi Mountains to supply Southern California. This research formed the basis of his master’s thesis.
After leaving WPI, Frazier worked for engineering companies in Worcester, Boston, and New Hampshire. He was a longtime professional member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). Upon retirement, he moved to the Vineyard, and was employed by the Martha’s Vineyard Shipyard. During this time he also enjoyed sailing, including a trip down the East Coast with Katharine, golf, and working with his son Tim and grandson Felix in Tim’s wood shop.
Frazier leaves his wife Katharine of 58 years; his daughter Sarah of Chevy Chase, Md.; his son Tim and wife Tricia, and their children Felix and Esme, of Vineyard Haven; and his son Bill and wife Christine, and their children Eleri and Liam, of San Francisco, Calif. He will be missed and remembered as a kind and gentle man.
A small memorial service will be held this summer when the family will scatter Frazier’s ashes over Vineyard Sound. In lieu of donations, please share loving kindness and compassion with others.
