Long time humanitarian, philanthropist and Pahrump businessman Ron Frazier died on Saturday.
He was 81.
Frazier was a native of Wisconsin and opened Frazier Furniture store on Calvada Boulevard in Pahrump in 1995.
Frazier’s son Brad spoke about his father’s life and legacy in Pahrump and beyond.
“He was involved in the Pahrump Chamber of Commerce and he did a lot for the local community,” Brad said. “My father was very caring and he always wanted to help people whenever he could.”
Frazier co-founded the popular Pahrump Life magazine with his wife, Marion, more than 10 years ago.
“We wanted something to tell the people what a great town Pahrump is,” Marion said. “We started Pahrump Life magazine because everything was so negative. We just wanted to give the town something positive about Pahrump.”
Frazier also was the man behind the annual Pahrump Chili Cook-off competition at Petrack Park.
“I think a big part of that was just to get the people here in the community together,” Marion recalled. “Ron loved chili and it also served as a good fundraiser for the local community.”
Former Nevada District 36 Assemblyman James Oscarson spoke about his friendship with Frazier over the decades.
“I know that Ron was a man who cared about the people in the community of Pahrump and I don’t know how else to put it,” said Oscarson, is now a member of the Nevada State Ethics Commission. “He was certainly a leader in the community and I’ve known him for a long time. I served with him on the board at Pahrump’s No To Abuse agency and I spent quite a bit of time with him. He was just a good man and I worked with him on the Pahrump Chili Cook-off and have great memories of him.”
Pahrump’s KNYE 95.1 FM radio station owner Karen Jackson, who helped Frazier launch the chili competition, said he was at the radio station voicing a commercial spot on a cold morning when the idea was born.
“He said, ‘I bet that I can make a better chili than you,’” Jackson recalled Frazier saying. “At the beginning, it started out with just a few, and it ended up with taking up the whole park. It became such a challenge every year between Ron and me. He would call in every year to challenge me and it was such a fun time. Ron, Marion and I were very good friends. I already miss him dearly and it really breaks my heart.”
Local U.S. Air Force Veteran Dr. Tom Waters is a contributing writer for Pahrump Life Magazine.
Waters said that he was shocked to hear the news of Frazier’s death.
“It was very shocking and when Ron called and told me that he was going to the hospital, I did not think that it was that serious,” Waters said. “It’s a huge loss to the community and my thoughts are with his family right now.”
As far as the future of Pahrump Life magazine, Marion Frazier said it’s too soon to determine.
“We’re working on having a couple of people take it over,” she said.
Ron Frazier passed away from complications related to COVID-19.
His death marked the 300th in Nye County from the virus since the outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020.
No public services are planned, according to the family.
Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes