Patsy Lorene ( Lee) Frazier
With the DNA of her humble yet courageous and strong willed mother, and the high spirited, adventurous Cherokee Indian Dad, a beautiful baby girl was born on a cold winter night of January 24, 1939, in the Watts Community near Sallisaw, Oklahoma.
Patsy Lorene Lee was one of nine children, six girls and three boys, born to Gracie Allen Lee and Clayborn Lee. All were born at home except the last one. Neighbors or family members were the midwives in bringing these nine children into the world.
From the first time Patsy’s Dad set eyes on his little Cherokee daughter, he was so attached to Patsy that he insisted she be named after his mother, Lorena Turman.
Pat was very beautiful, with her Cherokee ancestry on display physically and emotionally ... tall, energetic, indeed like her mother , determined, fearless, eager to try anything new, and always finished any job assigned to her... as a child and as an adult ...Her word was as good as gold.
Being raised in the tiny rural community of Watts, OK, with her eight brothers and sisters, she grew up walking to school barefoot in the summer, as they only had one pair of shoes for winter and to wear to church. Their home had no electricity or indoor plumbing, and her Mom made most of their clothes from flour sacks, as did most of the mothers at Watts. They were poor in worldly conveniences and possessions, but rich in love for not only each other but others as well. Most of the families in this tiny community had 8-12 children, to help with chores inside and outside the home.
The country school she and her siblings attended was comprised of 10-12 students, mostly relatives...and it was a two mile walk each way. To this day, Pat still remembered the name of her teacher then and her son - Mrs Garrett and Ricky. He was the only child in the class who carried a lunch pail (Red Ryder), and had “store bought” bread. All the others had paper sacks or little clean rags containing leftover homemade biscuits with peanut butter and jelly. But no one was jealous of Ricky just grateful for what they had.
Her mom and dad had a big garden and they canned a lot. Also strawberries, grapes, apples and other fruits were plentiful with the rich soil Nurtured by the Illinois River nearby. They had to walk 1/2 mile to get water from the only well around. But they were thankful for the pure water.
Pat was an adventurer, and in the 1940’s in rural communities, she and her siblings and cousins loved trying new things. She and her cousin Iva tried smoking grapevines several times until they got tired of burning their lips. They also discovered how to make “sheep shire wine”, made from chewable salty weeds grown in Oklahoma woodlands. After picking them, you put in a jar of water, added sugar, and buried them in dirt for month or more, then dig up the jar, and the wine was ready to drink... however most of the kids couldn’t wait that long so after two or three days, would dig up the jar and pretend it was really wine.
In 1953, Pat, her brothers and sisters , and their Mom moved to Iowa Park, Texas, near their Mom’s only brother, Garvin Allen, to start a new life without their dad. They loaded all their belongings onto his truck and Pat’s two oldest sisters, Norma and Betty, helped them get there safely and settled, then the girls left for Rockford , Illinois to join their brother Floyd to work in factories and send money back to their Mom in Iowa Park to help her raise the other six children, ages 18 months to 14 years,, with Pat as the oldest.
Each of the children helped their mom with picking cotton, selling eggs, mowing lawns and Pat’s first job was as a waitress at Roland’s Cafe . She was a natural there, hard worker, and enjoying life to the full .
In 1955, teenager Pat, 16, became friends with Etta Mae Frazier, whose cousin was Bobby Frazier, 16. They dated and on September 1, 1956, these two 17 year olds were married. Two years later their first daughter Kathy was born and a year later Sandra.
The four of them soon joined many family members in Rockford, working at National Lock factories and work there was plentiful in the 50’s and 60’s.They then moved to Pomona, CA where Bob had great job and They had their third child Steven in 1966. While in California, Pat reconnected there with her Dad , his wife Maxine, and her Dad’s second family of five children. The oldest of the five ,Mike, recently commented on how special Pat made him feel when she visited them. And still today all 11 of the 14 children of Gracie and Clayborn Lee and Clayborn and Maxine Lee are very close and have yearly reunions.
Bob and Pat and children eventually came back to Iowa Park where Bob worked many years for Bobby Fox Drilling and retired at Bridwell Oil Company. . Pat attended Faith Tabernacle Church in Holliday TX with her Mom and Aunt Dee Allen
Pat attended Faith Tabernacle Church in Holliday TX with her Mom and Aunt Dee Allen and gloriously accepted the Lord in 1977.
One of Pat’s greatest joys was cooking , and her Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts brought all the big family together at their home.
In 1989, Pat and Bob took her mother into their home to care for after a severe fall caused broken hip and wrist... Her mother basked and recovered in two months with their love and care, especially with Bob’s home made biscuits and gravy! And her mom lived to be almost 99 years old.
Pat’s story would not be complete without the emphasis on what made her and Bob’s life so wonderful, especially the last five years. Their three children and their spouses and their grandchildren cared so lovingly for them, making many sacrifices so their parents/ grandparents were well cared for, living next door to each other.
On the morning of Feb 19, 2021, God had plans for Pat’s homegoing to Heaven, so He lovingly had Bob there and all three of her children, all trying to extend their Mother’s life... but she had fought a good fight and was ready to go ....and so she finished her race.....took one last breath in this life and a new one in a different kind of life with Jesus, with so many of her relatives there waiting to usher and welcome her to her heavenly family... and await the rest of her earthly family.
No funeral services are planned according to her wishes, but the family is planning special ways to honor the life of this wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and sister!! Seeds from her life live on in her husband, children and their children, and all those who personally knew her and were touched and inspired by her!
Her legacy lives on in her immediate family: Her husband Bob Frazier, her children Kathy( Scott) Arledge, Sandy( Joe) Boyle, Steven( Trenda) Frazier, all of Iowa Park, TX...10 grandchildren, 10 great grandchildren, 6 sisters, 5 brothers, numerous cousins, nieces, nephews and Aunt Inez.
