Herbert W. Fraser

RICHMOND, Ind. – Herbert W. Fraser, age 96, of Richmond, Indiana, died Tuesday, May 2, 2017, at Reid Health. Born February 23, 1921, in Andover, Massachusetts, to Herbert Freeman and Mabel Heald Ward Fraser, Herbert had lived in Richmond since 1967. He was a 1939 graduate of George School in Newtown, Pennsylvania. Herb earned his bachelor’s degree in history from Swarthmore College and his master’s degree and Ph.D in economics from Princeton University. He served as a U.S. Navy fighter pilot during W.W. II flying Grumman F6F Hellcats off the USS Hancock in the Pacific. Herb was hired as a professor of economics at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and then taught at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, until 1964. From 1965 to 1967, he served with the Rockefeller Foundation as an advisor to the economics faculty of the Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia. Herb joined the Earlham College economics department in late 1967. Before retiring from Earlham, he was proud of his role in strengthening the economics program at the college. Herb took a sabbatical leave from Earlham College in 1973, and he and his wife, Mandy, drove from Earlham College to Sao Paulo, Brazil. They drove the length of Mexico, through Central America and Panama, transshipping the car to Colombia. They then drove from Colombia through the Andean Countries to Chile, over the Andes Mountains to Buenos Aires, then to Montevideo with the final destination in Sao Paulo, Brazil. There, he and Mandy visited their son, Peter, daughter-in-law, and new granddaughter, who were stationed there while Peter was managing the Peace Corps program in southern Brazil. While in Sao Paulo, he studied aspects of the Brazilian economy with economists at the Getulio Vargas Foundation. Herb was a long-time member and past president of the Rotary Club, where he was very proud of his role in the Club’s Ambassadorial Scholarship Program. He was on the Policy Committee for the Friends Committee on National Legislation, volunteered with the American Civil Liberties and Indiana Civil Liberties Unions, and was a member of the Clear Creek Friends Meeting. Herb had a life-long commitment to social, economic justice, and peace issues. Survivors include his son, Peter H. (Soffia B.) Fraser of Alexandria, Virginia; two granddaughters, Madeline F. (Benjamin L.) Cook of Belmont, Massachusetts, and Catherine F. (Mark G.) Mathis of Alexandria, Virginia, and Los Angeles, California; two great-grandchildren, Alexander F. and Liliana S. Cook; and two nieces, Susan Geyelin and Wendy Gaunt. He was preceded in death by his wife of 66 years, Amanda Hilles Fraser, who died March 29, 2012; parents; and sister, Sarah Rusk. A memorial service in the manner of Friends for Herbert W. Fraser will be held at 3:00 p.m. Saturday, August 12, 2017, at Stout Meeting House on the Earlham College campus, 801 National Road West, Richmond. Arrangements have been entrusted to Doan & Mills Funeral Home, 790 National Road West, Richmond. Condolences may be sent to the family via the guest book at www.doanmillsfuneralhome.com.

Herbert W. Fraser

February 23, 1921 - May 2, 2017