Graham “Stan” Frear ’47
Graham Stanton “Stan” Frear died Aug. 17, 2014 in Northfield, Minn., with his family by his side. He was born June 24, 1922 in Columbia, Mo., son of Dana and Grace Smiley Frear. Stan grew up in Michagan and then Minnetonka, Minn. After his mother passed away when he was a teenager, his father remarried. His step-mother insisted that Stan go to St. Olaf College, where he obtained majors in biology and English with certification to teach in secondary schools. He attended the University of Minnesota for his post-graduate and doctoral course work. While attending St. Olaf, he met Helen L. Jensen ’47 and they were married in 1947.
Stan took a teaching position in Amery, Wis., teaching both biology and English for three years, then returned to Northfield, where he taught English for 12 years. In 1962, he was offered a position at St. Olaf College to teach English as well as supervise student teacher candidates. During his 24+ years at St. Olaf, Stan designed and taught four new courses, including “Irish Literature” and “Studies in Ireland”. After his retirement, he continued to teach Irish literature to the Elder Collegium. Stan became the first secondary teacher in Minnesota elected president of the Minnesota Council of Teachers of English (MCTE). He was a charter member of the Conference on English Education, MCTE, and NCTE.
Stan always had a passion for art and began painting landscapes and seascapes from the north shore of Lake Superior and the country side of England and Ireland. He commissioned construction collage boxes, which can be found in the homes and businesses of Northfield and throughout the country. He wrote many articles, stories, and poetry. The two poetry books that were published were Red Shoes and Other Poems for My Wife; Love, Marriage, Cancer, Death and Poetry in Past and Present Tenses.
Stan is preceded in death by his wife, Helen, and sister-in-law Lois Jensen Nelson ’34 P ’61 ’65 ’69 and husband E. C. Nelson ’33 P ’61 ’65 ’69. He is survived by daughter, Christine King, son, Jonathan Frear ’79, and granddaughter, Jennifer King and husband Christopher Maas. Memorials preferred to St. John’s Lutheran Church.