Nancy D. Fraser

Nancy Darlene Fraser, née Clemans, passed away on September 4, 2026. She was the eldest of three children born to Warren and Marjorie Clemans in Lima, Ohio. Nancy's brother, Larry Clemans passed away several weeks prior to her death, and her sister Cheryl Clemans resides in Lima. Nancy overcame a childhood affliction of polio, and as a teenager she worked in the family catering and restaurant business operated by her father and grandmother in Lima. After graduating from Lima Senior High School, she attended Asbury College in Wilmore, KY, the first in her family to attend college. She majored in History with an emphasis in Secondary Education and later earned a Master of Education degree from Duquesne University. She met her future husband, Kenneth C. Fraser, Jr., at Asbury, and they were married on June 16, 1961. Their marriage of 65 years was a lasting partnership filled with love, commitment, and family. Together they raised two sons, Jeff Fraser and Barry Fraser. Nancy was a beloved mother-in-law to Claudia (Bollaín y Goytia) Fraser and Amy (Myers) Fraser. She took great joy in her role as a grandmother to Jessica (Fraser) Warner, Samantha Fraser, Zoe Fraser, and Calvin Fraser, and as a great-grandmother to Leo Warner, Camila Warner, and Nina Alonso. Her family was at the center of her life, and she treasured the time they spent together. Nancy loved getting to know people and had a gift for empathetic listening and humbly giving encouragement and advice. She devoted her professional life to education in the Pittsburgh Public Schools, working primarily as a reading clinician. She maintained classroom discipline through a blend of firmness and a genuine loving interest in her pupils. Over the course of her teaching career she served students at a number of secondary schools throughout the city before retiring in 1992. Nancy was a long-time member of Allegheny Center Alliance Church on Pittsburgh's Northside where she lent her mezzo soprano voice to sing solos and as a member of the choir. Along with her husband, Kenneth, she served in myriad capacities within the church fellowship and regularly opened her home to host functions and entertain friends. Nancy was also very involved in teaching and mentoring Laotian Hmong refugees, who came to the city beginning in the early 1980s. She embraced the role of American mom to many immigrant Hmong children who had fled desperate circumstances. In retirement, Nancy continued to devote herself to her family and serving others. She especially cherished summers spent at the cottage at Beulah Beach, Ohio. She was also a tireless volunteer, giving generously of her time and energy at Dorseyville Alliance Church and later at Crosspointe Church in Harmarville where she mentored many young mothers of preschoolers through MOPS ministries. From her earliest years, Nancy was a committed follower of Jesus Christ. Her faith was not simply something she professed, but the guidepost by which she sought to live each day and became a lasting influence on her family and on the many friends whose lives she touched. Visitation will be held on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, from 4 to 8 p.m. at Thomas M. Smith Funeral Home & Crematory Ltd; 930 Center Avenue Blawnox, PA, 15238.

Nancy D. Fraser

October 17, 1937 - September 4, 2026