John grew up in Monroe, LA, and was fond of saying that he attended Georgia Tucker (Elementary School) and Neville High School (class of 1960). He majored in chemistry at Centenary College of Louisiana, Shreveport, graduating in 1964, and was a member of Kappa Alpha fraternity. He was proud to have attended Northeast Louisiana University in Monroe for a semester before going on to earn his Ph.D. in biochemistry from Tulane University in New Orleans. John was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Tennessee at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, TN. He was a member of the scientific research honor society, Sigma Xi, and a 57-year member of the American Chemical Society.

Early in his career John pursued medical research at the University of Alabama in Birmingham AL (UAB) and at New York University Medical Center in New York, NY. He also taught undergraduate biochemistry in the UAB Chemistry department, and was an Assistant Professor at Wesleyan College in Macon, GA, teaching organic chemistry, biochemistry, spectroscopy, and immunology. John shifted to the private sector working at several startup companies in New York and New Jersey developing immunoassays for drugs of abuse and for risk factors of interest to the life insurance industry. Subsequently, John moved to a larger corporate environment, working first for National Medical Care, Inc., Rockleigh NJ, providing support to meet regulatory requirements for new product development, and finally for Fresenius Medical Care doing research, development, and quality control at the production facility in Concord CA.

John loved to travel. Throughout years of family vacations and business trips he enjoyed visiting Bermuda, Japan, Hawaii, Germany, Spain, Portugal, France, Finland, Italy, the Caribbean, and Canada. After returning to Monroe upon retirement, John appreciated the chance to see new and old friends around town. When wished “Have a good day,” he’d answer back “and a better tomorrow!” He continued his lifelong practice of donating blood, in Monroe at LifeShare, as long as his health permitted. John enjoyed spending time at the Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Monroe. He also took an active interest in good citizenship, encouraging everyone to vote and provide respectful feedback to their elected representatives on issues of particular concern to them.

John was preceded in death by his parents, Giles Thomas Frazer and Martha Louise Lide Frazer, his brother, Thomas Lide Frazer, and sister-in-law Karen Ann Hernandez Frazer.

John is survived by his wife of fifty-five years, Anne Susan Cornish Frazer, his son Thomas Harlan Frazer of Brooklyn NY, his sister-in-law Megan Lynn Cornish of Seattle WA, and his first cousin Lance Lide and wife Mercedes of Greenbrier AR. His warm-hearted wit, kindness, and good company will be dearly missed.

Memorials may be given to The Salvation Army or to the Food Bank Northeast Louisiana.

A memorial service for John will be held at a later date.