Lewis Daniel Frazier

Lewis Daniel Frazier passed away on Saturday, August 8, 2026. He was a cherished husband, father, brother, uncle, grandfather, great grandfather, and friend. His strength, commitment, loyalty, determination, and wit will be deeply missed.

Lewis was born on March 11, 1929 to Robert Ira, Jr. and Carrie Hoyle Frazier in Franklin County, North Carolina. As the second born out of six children of tobacco sharecroppers, Lewis quickly developed leadership skills, found the value of hard work, discovered the importance of education and self-improvement, grew to love the Lord, and gained strength from family ties.

These characteristics followed him into the Marine Corps at 17 years old, service in the Army Reserves, high school at Sandhill School, two years at Mars Hill and then two years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration.

Lewis worked for General Motors Acceptance Corporation as a field representative for 30 years. Upon retirement, he then studied for and received his residential contractor’s license. He spent the next 20 years building for others. He met Jerry Stapleford and Fred Kruck and they established the “Three Stooges”, their construction team. Together, these friends completed many construction projects and specialized in building handicap ramps.

His passions were many. One such passion was exploring new places. Lewis loved to travel with his wife, Joyce. When the yearly Per Flo booklet was released, he would pour over the trip offerings and plan every vacation for years around the different places he wanted to visit. Alaska, Hawaii, British Isles (several times), Canada, the Pacific Northwest, California, and the Northeastern States of USA were some of their favorite destinations. After every Christmas, off to Charleston they went and some of their fondest trips were the Mystery Tours provided by Per Flo.

Lewis also loved sports of all kinds, especially basketball. In high school he served as captain of the basketball team and in college he became an intense Carolina Tarheel fan. Only a few knew of his love for music. He especially favored Country and Blue Grass. Live music would bring tears to his eyes. Attending “The Bears” concerts with his wife, Joyce, were some of the highlights of his later years. Lewis served as a leader in the Craven County Democratic Party. He hosted many fundraisers at his home in River Bend and spent countless hours working the election polls. It is also important to note that Lewis also loved to camp, hunt, fish, and read anything, especially the N&O and Sun Journal every day.

Through the influence of his mother, Carrie, Lewis grew up in the church becoming a strong Southern Baptist. Regardless of where he lived, he always held a leadership role where he worshiped. He served as a Sunday School teacher, usher, deacon, and as a member of numerous committees such as pastoral search, finance, building, and his favorite the parking committee. Lewis also helped to build Temple Baptist Church in the early 1960’s and then later helped to start River Bend Baptist Church.

Lewis received much joy from helping others. He willingly shared his resources, time, and talents. He loved opening up his home to college baseball players, traveling singing groups and anyone who needed temporary housing. One of his greatest joys came from his work with Burmese immigrants, teaching them how to shop for groceries, obtain a driver’s license, find employment and getting their first ever Christmas tree. He delighted in their successes and became their grandpa. Lewis also gave many volunteer hours at Ben D. Quinn Elementary School reading to students and reshelving library books. He enjoyed working at the Food Bank of New Bern bagging vegetables and filling up Senior Food Boxes.

Lewis is survived by his devoted wife of 56 years, Joyce Riggs Frazier. He is also survived by his four children; Kathi Parada (Nelson), Lynn Cox (Bucky), Gary Buck (Leigh) all of New Bern and John Frazier of Pittsboro. He has seven grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren as he affectionally called his “here afters”. He is also survived by two of his brothers, John Frazier of Kitrell, North Carolina and Jerry Frazier of New Bern. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Joyce Becker; his son, Dan L. Frazier; two brothers, Julius and Bobby; and one sister, Sylvia.

Visitation with the family will be held on Friday, August 14, at Pollocksville Baptist Church (408 Green Hill St. Pollocksville, NC) at 1:00 p.m.. A memorial service will follow at the church and will begin at 2:00 p.m.. After the service, a reception will be held at the Frazier home (280 Shoreline Dr., New Bern). A brief internment service will be at Greenleaf Memorial Park (900 River Rd., New Bern) at 4:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Lewis’ memory to Pollocksville Baptist Church (P.O. Box 208, Pollocksville, 28573) or Rhems Volunteer Fire Department (P.O. Box 13010, New Bern, 28561.