William Frazee Obituary

William F. Frazee (Bill), age 79 passed away on May 22, 2011 in Goodyear, AZ. His loving wife of 40 years, Sandy, preceded him in death. Bill leaves behind daughter Karen Kuehn, son William and wife Denise Frazee, all of Denver. He also leaves son Brett, his wife Brijn and their two wonderful children Braden and Brody of Boca Raton, Florida. Bill also has two brothers, both still living, Bob in the Detroit and Jack in Texas. Bill was born in Washington, PA in 1931 and was raised there until after World War II began. His family moved to Detroit, MI in 1942 where Bill began selling newspapers during the war was first introduced to the printing industry. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1949 and spent three of his four years of duty on Okinawa and Japan flying as a chief mechanic on C-119's in support of ground troops during the Korean War. He was honorably discharged in 1953 at the rank of technical sergeant. Bill had a lengthy career in organized labor and as a lifetime union member, retired from the Communications Workers of America in 1996. He began his career as a printer at newspapers and commercial printing shops in Detroit and first became a member of the International Typographical Union (ITU) in 1953. In 1962 he was appointed to the ITU staff in Colorado Springs, CO and to Assistant to Secretary-Treasurer in 1968. Bill developed initial controls and systems for the union's first national multi-employer pension plan. In 1975 he was appointed as Assistant to the President and served in that capacity until 1988 when the ITU merged with the Communications Workers of America. In 1980 Bill established the first 401k program with Connecticut General Insurance Co. for employees of the union and the plan was transferred to the CWA employees upon merger. In 1997 Bill was named the CWA Co-Director of Education Programs which provided funds to employees for lifelong learning programs including fees for college tuition. Bill and Sandy retired in Goodyear, AZ in 2001. Bill was very proud of his contributions to employees and continued his union membership until his death. He will be missed by family and friends and most remembered for his contributions to the employees he so vehemently represented.