Ramona Estelle Frazier

In lieu of flowers, Ramona's family requests that donations be made in her memory to Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Foundation online, in person at the foundation office, or mailed to HMNH Foundation at 23845 McBean Parkway, Valencia, CA 91355. Ramona was an active volunteer at HMNH for many years.
Donations may also be made in Ramona's memory to the American Cancer Society.

Ramona E. Frazier, a cherished wife, mother, and grandmother who devoted much of her time to volunteer service and mastered the lost art of shorthand in her professional life, passed away April 6, 2022. She was 80.

Ramona was born Ramona Estelle Bassett to Harold and Katina Bassett in Dover, N.H., on April 12, 1941. She was a "war baby," born one year before her brother, Harold "Sonny." As the world changed in the 1940s, her parents took on new roles to support the war effort. When Ramona was three, the family moved to San Diego to be with her father who was stationed with the U.S. Navy. The family moved back to New Hampshire after a few years, but the sunshine and beaches of California called again.

After her younger sister, Joan, was born in 1948, Ramona's family moved to Carson, California, where an uncle and aunt lived, and put down roots. Housing was scarce in those days, and Ramona's parents rented a house on Carson's Main Street across from a large field where the children watched cows being born and cattle drives passing down the road. The family eventually found a home on Fiat Street where Ramona spent the rest of her childhood and teenage years. Her youngest sister, Rebecca, was born in 1956.

She attended and graduated from the local public Banning High School in nearby Wilmington, a crowded campus in the late 1950s that educated thousands of students moving into new housing developments in the surrounding neighborhoods of Los Angeles' greater-Harbor area. Ramona delved into school life as a cheerleader, yearbook staffer, drama student, class government representative and all-around busy student before graduating in 1959.

Ramona earned certifications at a local community college that prepared her for a career as a legal secretary. She worked in the Office of the County Counsel in Los Angeles County and for various county commission offices and appointed officials in the 1960s in downtown LA. Ramona eventually met Richard W. Frazier, the love of her life, in the halls of county government. The couple was married at Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes in 1967. In 1968, just before the birth of their first child, James, Ramona retired from the county and the couple moved from Hollywood to a hilltop home they purchased in the Adams Hill neighborhood of Glendale, CA.

In 1972, their daughter, Joanna, was born, and a few years later the family moved to a home on a cul-de-sac in the Verdugo Woodlands neighborhood of Glendale where they would spend the next 26 years. When her children were young, Ramona volunteered in numerous leadership roles with PTAs, scout troops, the Glendale Youth Symphony Orchestra Foundation, her church, and more, immersing herself in community life. She was often the designated driver for elderly aunts who liked to lunch with friends and enjoy a daytime martini or two at a local restaurant. She hosted gatherings of family and friends, and often friends of her children were treated to homecooked dinners and desserts.

Ramona returned to the workforce when her children were in junior high and high school, and she and Richard, a longtime employee of the County Department of Regional Planning, continued to work full-time until their children finished college in the 1990s. Ramona and Richard moved to Valencia, CA, in 2002, and Ramona volunteered for more than 13 years with the Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital Auxiliary group. Ramona enjoyed their travels around the world, learning about cultures and people.

Ramona is survived by Richard, her children James Frazier and Joanna Banks (Brian), sisters Joan Townsend (Dale) and Rebecca Rosenfeld (Elliott), and the joys of her life, her grandchildren Audrey, Conor and Maya Banks, and Theodore and Benjamin Frazier.

An outdoor service will be held at 3 p.m. May 6 at Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills, with a reception following at the home of Ramona's daughter and son-in-law, Joanna and Brian Banks. Email ramonafraziermemorial@gmail.com for more information and Joanna's address.

Arrangements are under the direction of Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills, California.