William Alphonzo Frazier, Sr.

William Frazier Obituary
Obituary published on Legacy.com by Ronald Taylor II Funeral Home - Washington D.C. on Apr. 28, 2025.
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William Alphonzo Frazier, Sr., affectionately known as Joe Frazier, departed this life after a brief illness on Sunday, April 13, 2025 at White Oak Adventist Hospital in Silver Spring, MD. He was born on Sunday, June 10, 1945 at Freedman's Hospital in Washington, DC to the late Ruth Mae Frazier.
Joe accepted Christ at an early age and was baptized at the United House of Prayer for All People. He resided with both his mother, Ruth Frazier, and his grandmother, Alice Odom (Hatchet) Frazier in the Midcity (now Shaw) Neighborhood of Washington, DC.
Joe was enrolled in the D.C. Public Schools, attending Cleveland Elementary School, Shaw Junior High School, and Cardozo Senior High School. While at Cardozo, he was an offensive and defensive lineman for the Cardozo Clerks Varsity Football Team before he graduated in 1964.
It was at the United House of Prayer that Joe would meet and fall in love with Veola Patricial Brunson, of Batesburg, South Carolina. They were united in holy matrimony on November 7, 1969 in Washington DC., and out of this union, one son, William Alphonzo Frazier II, was born.
Joe was employed at Tolman Laundry after graduating from Cardozo High School. However, on January 2, 1974, he would begin his employment with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (also known as Metro) as a Cleaner at the Western Division, and would advance through the mechanical ranks to the level of Mechanic A, even being recognized as the BUSV Maintenance Employee of the Year in July 1996 for exceptional service and performance. Joe Frazier retired from Metro on May 1, 2006 after 32 years of dedicated and hard work to Metro. As quoted from the then Interim General Manager, Dan Tangherlini, "Throughout your outstanding career at WMATA, you have always been an extremely dependable employee. For most of your career, you were assigned to Number 401 road service truck. In this capacity, you were able to provide rapid road service and remedy many mechanical problems that occurred on in-service buses, with a minimum delay. You have also been a major source of assistance for operators and street supervisors around the region. From the Silver Spring Station to "10th and Penn", everyone has benefitted from the talents of "Joe" Frazier, as you are affectionately known."
Towards the end of his tenure at Metro, Joe was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer. Courageously, he fought and overcame his battle in 2004. Outside of work, Joe was an avid sports fan, cheering on the home team Washington Commanders (Redskins), Wizards (Bullets), Nationals, Capitals, Georgetown Hoyas and Maryland Terps. He was also employed by B&B Catering, which was the concession stand vendor for Robert F. Kennedy Stadium and the DC Armory. From this, Joe would sell food and drinks at Redskins games and Ringling Bros Circus, which turned into a family affair in 1992 when both his wife and son worked as vendors as well during those football games and even during the 1994 World Cup. A devoted family man, Joe loved to travel with his wife Veola to various House Of Prayer convocations, annual family vacations to Florida, Puerto Rico and St. Thomas, or on a couples cruise to the Caribbean. He was a member of the Columbia Lodge No. 85 of the Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks of the World (IBPOEW) as well as a licensed cosmetologist, and loved to cut the hair of his son and grandson.
During his retirement years, Joe took great pleasure in watching his grandson, William Frazier, play on his basketball and baseball teams.
He leaves to cherish his memory a loving wife of 56 years, Veola Frazier; one son, William Frazier II (Callian); one grandson, William Francis Jagan Frazier; cousin, Corey Frazier (Chante); sister-in-law, Earnestine Coleman; brother-in-law, Spencer Lewis; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and extended family and friends.
Joe is preceded in death by his mother, Ruth Mae Frazier; grandmother, Alice O (Hatchet) Frazier; grandfather, William Frazier; and uncle, John Thomas Frazier.
In lieu of flowers, the family request that donations be made to the Movember Charity. Please visit, https://movember.com/m/willfraze.