William Heartsel "Bill" Fraker

Mr. William Heartsel “Bill” Fraker, 95, passed away peacefully on July 15, 2020 at The Retreat at Jasper.  He was born March 14,1925 in Whitfield County, Georgia to the late George Heartsel and Lula Byrd Fraker. He grew up in the Dawnville community and resided most of his life in Dalton before retiring to Ocala, Florida in 1987 and then to Big Canoe, Georgia in 1998.  He enjoyed being a resident of The Retreat at Jasper since its opening in September 2018.

Mr. Fraker was a proud World War II Veteran, having served in the First Calvary of the United States Army.  He was stationed in Luzon, Philippines and later participated in the Occupation of Japan where he spent time guarding the Headquarters of General MacArthur.  In 2017 he took the Honor Flight with his daughter to visit the WWII Memorial in Washington, DC.

He spent most of his working career in the printing and book-binding business.  He had a true talent for rebinding old Bibles and books by hand and enjoyed doing this for many years after his retirement.  One of his proudest achievements in his career was being involved in the creation of the large Lookout Mountain Museum guest register, which held space for 200,000 signatures of guests visiting the tourist attraction.

He was a charter member of Trinity United Methodist Church in Dalton and most recently a member of Big Canoe Chapel.

He was a devoted and loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather and was a friend to all he met.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 68 years, Rosene Couch Fraker, parents Heartsel and Byrd Fraker, brothers Richard and Earnest Fraker, sisters Dorothy Kendrick and Mary Hackney, nephew James F. Fraker.

He is survived by his son and daughter-in-law Jon H. and Deanna Fraker of Big Canoe; daughter and son-in-law Lynne and Jeff Dodson of Big Canoe; granddaughter and husband Melissa and Brent Schofield of Suwanee; grandson William Harrison “Will” Dodson of Big Canoe; great-grandchildren Bonnie Katherine “Bonnie Kate” and Jonathan Kolbie “Jake” Schofield of Suwanee; nieces Carolyn Cleveland, Nancy Cochran, and Karen Brown. Several great nieces and nephews also survive.

Due to the current situation with Covid-19, there will be a private graveside service for immediate family in Whitfield Memorial Gardens in Dalton.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of William H. Fraker to the North GA Veterans Fund, 10923 Big Canoe, Jasper, GA 30143.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to the staff of The Retreat at Jasper and to Compassus Hospice of Ellijay for their dedicated and loving care of Bill.