Obituary of Elizabeth Frair

Betty Frair, 96, a resident of Fellowship Village in the Basking Ridge section of Bernards Township, passed away on Tuesday, January 16, 2024

She was born in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY, on May 28, 1927, and lived there until she married and moved to Coatesville, Pa in 1961.

She graduated from Girls' High School in Brooklyn. She graduated from Nyack College, Nyack, NY in 1949 and continued with graduate work at Houghton College, Houghton, NY, earned a Masters degree from New York University in 1951 and did further graduate work at Columbia University in the area of audiology. She then joined the staff of the Manhattan Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital in the Hearing and Speech Clinic as audiologist.

She expanded her work in audiology to include the education of deaf children and joined the teaching staff at the Lexington School for the Deaf in New York City from 1955 to

1960. During those years, along with publishing articles relating to the acquisition of language, she developed a tri-sensory approach to help deaf children develop speech.

This was one of the earliest approaches to programmed learning. In 1960, she moved on to become principal of the Lower School at the New York School for the Deaf in White Plains, NY until she married Dr. C. Hans Evans, a Presbyterian minister, in 1961, and moved to Coatesville, Pa. She then joined the staff of the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf in Philadelphia as Principal of the Middle School. For several years, she taught for Penn State University as Associate Professor of Speech at an extension site in Philadelphia in a program training teachers of the deaf.

Along with her work in the education of deaf children, she immersed herself in all areas of the work of the church. She was active in the music program of the church and became known in the area for her creative Christmas Eve programs. She remained in Coatesville, Pa until the death of her husband in 1977. She then moved back to New York and joined the staff of The King's College in Briarcliff Manor, NY in the Student Development Department and later on became the Director of Public Relations. At the college, she met and married Dr. Wayne Frair, biology professor, head of the Biology department, and herpetologist with a specialty in turtle research.

Upon their retirement from the College, they moved to Fellowship Village in 1996. Betty was active in numerous areas of the Village life serving on multiple committees which included chairing the Activities Committee for many years. She served several terms on the Village Resident Council. She was best known for her projects of writing stories and bios of the lives of the residents and posting these stories on creative displays in the Village community center. The Veterans' Project, which she began in 2001, continues on each year honoring resident Veterans, each with their own individual poster, in a patriotic display of their story, and culminates in a grand luncheon on Veteran's Day in November.

She was named Volunteer of the Year around 2010 by the area community and was the recipient of the award of Honoree of the Year at the annual Fellowship Village Gala in 2015.

Betty was predeceased by her husband Wayne in 2015. Survived by many loving nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at Fellowship Village, 9000 Fellowship Road, Basking Ridge, NJ on Sunday, January 21, 2024 at 2:30pm

For further information, contact the Gallaway and Crane Funeral Home at (908) 766-02500.