The University of Louisville Alumni Magazine: for alumni, faculty, staff, students and anyone that is a UofL Cardinal fan.
Issue link: https://louisville.epubxp.com/i/43017
I It was December 23, 1994 — and the HFH Inc. offi ce Christmas party was in full swing. The chairman, Harry S. Frazier, Jr., was there, tethered to the oxygen tank that he had jokingly named "Albert." The offi ce staff had dressed "Albert" as Santa Claus, complete with a red stocking cap. Harry's signature laugh echoed down the hallways, cut short by a fi t of coughing. Harry was sick. Very sick. In fact, he had only a few days to live, and he knew that his long battle with lung cancer was nearly over. But he still insisted on going to work every day. "That's the way Dad was," recalled daughter Sandra Frazier. "He had this incredible work ethic." That work ethic not only defi ned Harry Frazier, it also transformed a community. In the late 1980s and early '90s, Harry's company, HFH, was the hot real estate fi rm in Louisville, develop- ing such properties as Springhurst, Glenmary, Glen Oaks, Regency Woods, The Landings and Oxmoor Golf and Steeplechase Course. From condos and a yacht club on Harrods Creek to single-family homes lining lush green golf courses to a marina complex on the Ohio River, HFH was where the action was. "Harry had this idea that people and compa- nies would be attracted to Louisville, bring jobs to Louisville, if they had outstanding places to live with high amenities," said former Louisville Mayor and Jefferson County Judge-Executive Da- vid Armstrong. "He created classy developments that spurred Louisville's economic development in the '80s and '90s. The design was important to him; the livability was important to him. You didn't have to be a millionaire to live in one of Boston and Newport, R.I., but Harry returned to Louisville for his senior year to graduate from Male High School in 1951. He then enrolled at the University of Virginia, but later transferred to UofL, which turned out to be fortuitous both for Harry and the university. "Harry loved UofL," said wife Jean. "He took the kids to all the UofL home games. But it wasn't just the sports. Harry believed a strong univer- sity was key to the community's success and economic competitiveness." Harry met his future wife, then a public health nurse, in 1959. The former Jean Wode grew up in a middle-class family in Fern Creek in southeastern Jefferson County, never dreaming she would one day marry the man who would help transform her hometown into a thriving residential and business hub. "Glenmary was one of the fi rst major developments in the area to of- fer the type of East End amenities my contempo- raries were looking for," Jean recalled. Real estate development was not where Harry was supposed to end up. As a great-grandson of George Garvin Brown, who founded Louisville's Brown-Forman Corp. in 1870, Harry was ex- pected to join the family distillery business. And after graduating with a history degree from UofL in 1956, that's exactly what he did. He worked for Brown-Forman for 11 years, while earning his MBA at UofL's College of Business in 1963. But he left the company in 1965. "Harry did not enjoy the corporate world," said Jean. "He wanted to do his own thing." For a while, it wasn't clear exactly what Harry's "own thing" was. He became a stockbroker, then a real estate broker and property manager. He bought into started to make his mark. In the 1970s, he began to buy up apartments throughout the region, eventually owning nearly 800 units. "Harry helped Louisville grow and bring business to the area by giving Louisvillians good places to live," refl ected Owsley Brown Frazier, retired vice chairman of Brown-Forman and Harry's younger brother. "Harry's legacy from a business standpoint was his vision. He built neighborhoods from scratch and really helped es- tablish growth, particularly in East Louisville. All of these places are still prospering areas," he said. "Harry was a sharp businessman, very bright, very smart," said family friend and former business partner Cap Middleton, 68, of Munfordville, Ky. "He was perhaps a bit too generous with people, but that's certainly not a criticism." Harry's generosity was legendary. He donated large sums to numerous causes — mental health, kidney research, education and the Boy Scouts of America, to name just a few. But Harry believed in giving more than just money. "Mom and Dad taught us that giving money is wonderful, but giving of your time is just as important," Sandra Frazier said. "You can hand anybody a check, but actually going, visiting, meeting people and understanding what you're giving makes it personal and makes it even greater. Giving some of yourself is a huge gift." Harry's time was his most precious contribu- "Harry believed a strong university was key to the community's success and economic competiveness." Harry's developments, but you sure felt like one." Harry Stucky Frazier, Jr. was born Feb. 28, 1933, in Louisville. His father, Harry Sr., was a physician who also taught at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. His mother, Amelia Brown Frazier, was a leading civic fi gure and philanthropist, who founded the renowned Frazier Rehab Center in 1954. Harry and younger brother Owsley spent part of their adolescence at boarding school in 26|LOUISVILLE.EDU a cable television fi rm and started a charter air service in Louisville and a charter yacht company in the Bahamas. "Dad had a knack for taking his hobbies and interests and turning them into profi table ventures," said daughter Virginia "Ginny" Frazier, the youngest of Harry and Jean's three children. "He was an entrepreneur before it was cool to be an entrepreneur." But it was in real estate where Harry really tion. He served on the UofL Board of Overseers and was a vice chairman and trustee of the River Region Mental Retardation board; founder and second president of the Kentucky Association of Regional Mental Health-Mental Retardation boards; director emeritus and past president of the Kidney Founda- tion of Kentucky; past vice president, treasurer and trustee of the National Kidney Foundation; former member of the Lou- isville Civil Service Commission; execu- tive board member of the Old Kentucky Home Council of the Boy Scouts of America; board member of the Louisville Theatrical Association; chairman of the board of trustees of Walden School; board member of Oxmoor Charities Corp; and member of the Parents Council of Hollins College in Roanoke, Va. Frazier's board and philanthropic participa- tion was far more active than passive. Joanne Berryman, former CEO for the Frazier Rehab Institute, remembers Harry both as a board