Buelah Pearl Frazier

0

Buelah Pearl Frazier

June 12, 1924 – February 27, 2017

 

On June 12, 1924, Beulah Pearl Price, the youngest daughter of George Washington Price and Alberta Harmon Price was born in Hughes County, in the small country town of Wetumka, Oklahoma. Beulah was the last of nine children who all preceded her in death.

When Beulah was growing up in Oklahoma, she said the older siblings would tease and pull her hair, especially her brother James.  Her sister, Hazel, was 14 years older and they were more like mother and daughter than sisters.  Because they were close in age, her closest relationship was with her sister, Fairy.   Beulah was a daddy’s girl.  Throughout her life she always spoke of the love she had for her father.

Beulah attended school and graduated high school in Oklahoma She was a very good student as were all of the Price children.  She and her family attended church regularly.  She accepted Christ at an early age.

Her father died when she was eleven.  After her husband’s death, her mother decided to move the family to California following her cousin, Daisy Joseph.  In 1942 the, family traveled to California on a World War II Troop transport train. They ended up living in Linda Vista and later in East San Diego.

When she first arrived in San Diego she went to work at the consolidated defense plant (Convair). In 1945, Beulah Pearl met and married Eddie James (E.J.) Frazier.  They were married in Yuma, Arizona.  He nicknamed her “Boots”.

Later in her life she was, “Mama”, a single mother of four children:  Pierre, Chris, Cheryl and Clifford (Beanie).  She became a domestic worker, cleaning houses for the wealthy San Diegans. She worked long, hard hours earning less than $10.00 per day in order to feed her family.  She was a proud woman.   She somehow provided her kids with nice clothing.   Appearance meant a lot to her and she stressed this to her children.

Beulah Frazier understood early on that she was going to have to learn new skills. She decided to attend Mesa Community College earning two certificates in nursing.  She did this while she was a single mother, keeping her jobs as a domestic, working and riding a bus from her job to Mesa College and riding the bus home alone at night and then walking a mile home from the bus stop. She repeated this same process the next day, the next week and the next year for many years.  She was truly a strong woman.

It goes without saying that Aunt Beulah loved her family. She was especially close to the oldest nieces and nephews. When they were together they have a great time laughing and talking about their life and days in Oklahoma.

At the age of 45 her life became consumed with her children and grandchildren.  She sacrificed everything for them.  She gave everything she had to them and did her best to keep them safe and secure.

Like many grandparents, “Granny “ended up raising and providing for some of her grandchildren.  She put them first, before herself, but she would not have had it any other way.

She always managed to have several close friends who she would go to visit with her grandchildren dragging behind her. She also managed to have at least one of her grandkids with her at all times.

Beulah Pearl worked up until her mid -seventies. During this time she worked with her granddaughter in her day care facility. Angela, her oldest granddaughter, would tell her,” Granny, you don’t need to work here.”  She would quickly respond, “You better use me now, I won’t be able to do this much longer.”

Her son, Chris predeceased her in 2010.

Seven years ago a stroke impacted the rest of her life.  She stayed in her home as long as she could.  .She was being cared for by her only daughter, Cheryl and her grandson, Chris King. She later insisted in going into a residential care facility where she lived her remaining years.

The Lord called Beulah Pearl Frazier home, at age 92, on Monday, February 27, 2017. She leaves to cherish her memory three of her four children her children: Pierre, Cheryl and Clifford; 18 grandchildren; 27 great-grandchildren; 2 great-great grandchildren; and a host of nephews and nieces, cousins and family friends.