October 21, 1929 - July 20, 2020
(News story) Frazier Reams, Jr., who had been a lawyer, state senator, and the Democratic Party's 1966 nominee for governor, and who also owned radio stations in Ohio and Michigan - most notably WIOT and WCWA in Toledo - and served on civic, business, and university boards, died Monday in his Perrysburg Township home. He was 90.
He'd been in declining health, said his wife, Susan.
"Frazier, along with his wife, Susan, were just involved in everything that was good in this community," said Jim White, Jr., who knew him for more than 60 years. "He was a good friend to everybody."
James Ruvolo, a former chairman of the Lucas County and Ohio Democratic parties, said: "He left a mark in this community in politics and business."
Mr. Reams and Frederic D. "Fritz" Wolfe, the business owner, grew up together, and for decades celebrated their shared birthdays together. Both were ailing in 2019, and that Oct. 21 was the first birthday in decades that they were apart, Mrs. Reams said. Mr. Wolfe died April 5, 2020.
For Mr. Reams' 90th, though, Peter Cavanaugh, who was executive vice president and chief operating officer of Reams Broadcasting Corp., placed a balloon-festooned quarter-page "Happy Birthday, Mr. Reams!" ad in The Blade.
Mr. Reams led his broadcast group "to national and marketing dominance in Toledo, Flint, Muskegon, Cincinnati, and Dayton," Mr. Cavanaugh wrote. "He was the best boss we ever had, although he hated that word, and was always simply 'Frazier' to all with whom he worked."
Mr. Cavanaugh, a radio veteran who was with Reams Broadcasting from 1980-1993, said Tuesday, "He was a hero of mine.
"He never came on like a boss. He knew he was. You knew he was," Mr. Cavanaugh said. "But it was a collegial experience."
Mr. Reams became a partner in 1981 in the project to rehabilitate Fort Industry Square on Summit Street, which became home to Reams Broadcasting.
"He was the first to arrive and one of the last to leave," Mr. Cavanaugh recalled. "He talked to everybody and was an enthusiastic hands-on operator, without people feeling he was hands on."
Mr. Reams' father, Frazier Reams, Sr., founded WTOL Radio in 1938 and WTOL TV in 1958. The sale of WIOT-FM and WCWA-AM in 1994 ended 56 years of Reams family radio ownership.
Mr. Reams, Jr., was born Oct. 21, 1929, to Crystal and Frazier Reams, Sr. He was 3 years old when his father became Lucas County prosecutor and devised a legal strategy - murder conspiracy charges - to bring down the Licavoli gang that had terrorized the community. Mr. Reams, Jr., was in law school at the University of Michigan when he noticed a reference to his father's success with conspiracy laws to prosecute Thomas "Yonnie" Licavoli.
"I was somewhat heartened when I saw it, because I really wasn't aware of the specifics of the trial. I was so young at the time," Mr. Reams, Jr., told The Blade in 1999.
His father later served two terms in Congress, representing the Ninth District as an independent. The elder Mr. Reams died Sept. 15, 1971.
Mr. Reams, Jr., attended DeVilbiss High School for a year and Ottawa Hills High School for three years. After a year at Washington and Lee University, he served in the Navy. He resumed his studies, receiving a bachelor of arts degree in 1952 from Washington and Lee and his law degree from UM in 1955.
He was assistant counsel afterward for the Legal Aid Society. Lucas County Prosecutor Harry Friberg in 1957 named Mr. Reams an assistant prosecutor - a position to which Mr. Reams' father hired Mr. Friberg 24 years earlier.
Nearly two years later, Mr. Reams returned to law practice at the firm of Reams, Bretherton & Neipp. A Democrat, he served in the Ohio Senate from 1963-66.
"He was raised in this political atmosphere. It was a natural progression, being raised in that family," his wife said.
He became the Democratic Party's 1966 gubernatorial candidate, unsuccessfully challenging incumbent Gov. James A. Rhodes, a Republican.
"He went to all 88 counties, and it was wonderful," Mrs. Reams. Prominent party figures - President Lyndon Johnson, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, and U.S. Sen Robert Kennedy (D., N.Y.) - campaigned on his behalf.
Mr. Reams "was a delightful, learned, articulate guy," said Mr. Ruvolo, who met Mr. Reams in the 1980s and for a time was an associate in a cellular telephone business.
Mr. Reams would tell funny stories about his time in the state Senate.
"You could tell that while he thought public service was important, he could see the humor in it," Mr. Ruvolo said. "He never took himself seriously. He took the job seriously."
After the 1966 loss, he opted out of electoral politics.
"He chose to raise the family and run a business. He had so many different interests. He was quite a sailor," his wife said.
Mr. Ruvolo said: "He saw the public career as something he had done, but was done with. He didn't dwell on whether he was trying to leave a legacy."
Still, he was interested in others' views.
"He was regularly known as the lone Democrat among groups of Republicans, but people wanted to be in his aura," his daughter, Molly Reams Thompson, said. "It's a rare quality to find someone who had a different view, but could be so respectful of your opinion."
Mr. Reams was a former trustee of Bowling Green State University, as his father had been. He had served on the boards of the Toledo Zoo, WGTE Public Media, the Better Business Bureau, and Fort Meigs. He served on the boards of the former Lucas County State Bank and Huntington National Bank.
He was supportive of his wife's role in arts advocacy.
"Frazier and I had a great love affair. We never went our separate ways," said his wife, former director of the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo. "He loved people. He loved talking with others. Frazier was a very happy person."
A competitive sailor, he participated in Chicago-Mackinac, Port Huron-Mackinac, and Mills Races in his vessel, Warpath.
Surviving are his wife, the former Susan Rodawig Weeks, whom he married June 29, 1963; sons Edward, David, and John Reams; daughter, Molly Reams Thompson; 12 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Services on Friday will be private. Public services will be scheduled later.
The family suggests tributes to National Museum of the Great Lakes; the Frazier Reams Public Affairs Scholarship at BGSU, named in honor of his father; or Epworth United Methodist Church, of which he was a longtime member.
This is a news story by Mark Zaborney. Contact him at [email protected] or 419-724-6182.
Published in The Blade on Jul. 22, 2020.
(News story) Frazier Reams, Jr., who had been a lawyer, state senator, and the Democratic Party's 1966 nominee for governor, and who also owned radio stations in Ohio and Michigan - most notably WIOT and WCWA in Toledo - and served on civic, business, and university boards, died Monday in his Perrysburg Township home. He was 90.
He'd been in declining health, said his wife, Susan.
"Frazier, along with his wife, Susan, were just involved in everything that was good in this community," said Jim White, Jr., who knew him for more than 60 years. "He was a good friend to everybody."
James Ruvolo, a former chairman of the Lucas County and Ohio Democratic parties, said: "He left a mark in this community in politics and business."
Mr. Reams and Frederic D. "Fritz" Wolfe, the business owner, grew up together, and for decades celebrated their shared birthdays together. Both were ailing in 2019, and that Oct. 21 was the first birthday in decades that they were apart, Mrs. Reams said. Mr. Wolfe died April 5, 2020.
For Mr. Reams' 90th, though, Peter Cavanaugh, who was executive vice president and chief operating officer of Reams Broadcasting Corp., placed a balloon-festooned quarter-page "Happy Birthday, Mr. Reams!" ad in The Blade.
Mr. Reams led his broadcast group "to national and marketing dominance in Toledo, Flint, Muskegon, Cincinnati, and Dayton," Mr. Cavanaugh wrote. "He was the best boss we ever had, although he hated that word, and was always simply 'Frazier' to all with whom he worked."
Mr. Cavanaugh, a radio veteran who was with Reams Broadcasting from 1980-1993, said Tuesday, "He was a hero of mine.
"He never came on like a boss. He knew he was. You knew he was," Mr. Cavanaugh said. "But it was a collegial experience."
Mr. Reams became a partner in 1981 in the project to rehabilitate Fort Industry Square on Summit Street, which became home to Reams Broadcasting.
"He was the first to arrive and one of the last to leave," Mr. Cavanaugh recalled. "He talked to everybody and was an enthusiastic hands-on operator, without people feeling he was hands on."
Mr. Reams' father, Frazier Reams, Sr., founded WTOL Radio in 1938 and WTOL TV in 1958. The sale of WIOT-FM and WCWA-AM in 1994 ended 56 years of Reams family radio ownership.
Mr. Reams, Jr., was born Oct. 21, 1929, to Crystal and Frazier Reams, Sr. He was 3 years old when his father became Lucas County prosecutor and devised a legal strategy - murder conspiracy charges - to bring down the Licavoli gang that had terrorized the community. Mr. Reams, Jr., was in law school at the University of Michigan when he noticed a reference to his father's success with conspiracy laws to prosecute Thomas "Yonnie" Licavoli.
"I was somewhat heartened when I saw it, because I really wasn't aware of the specifics of the trial. I was so young at the time," Mr. Reams, Jr., told The Blade in 1999.
His father later served two terms in Congress, representing the Ninth District as an independent. The elder Mr. Reams died Sept. 15, 1971.
Mr. Reams, Jr., attended DeVilbiss High School for a year and Ottawa Hills High School for three years. After a year at Washington and Lee University, he served in the Navy. He resumed his studies, receiving a bachelor of arts degree in 1952 from Washington and Lee and his law degree from UM in 1955.
He was assistant counsel afterward for the Legal Aid Society. Lucas County Prosecutor Harry Friberg in 1957 named Mr. Reams an assistant prosecutor - a position to which Mr. Reams' father hired Mr. Friberg 24 years earlier.
Nearly two years later, Mr. Reams returned to law practice at the firm of Reams, Bretherton & Neipp. A Democrat, he served in the Ohio Senate from 1963-66.
"He was raised in this political atmosphere. It was a natural progression, being raised in that family," his wife said.
He became the Democratic Party's 1966 gubernatorial candidate, unsuccessfully challenging incumbent Gov. James A. Rhodes, a Republican.
"He went to all 88 counties, and it was wonderful," Mrs. Reams. Prominent party figures - President Lyndon Johnson, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, and U.S. Sen Robert Kennedy (D., N.Y.) - campaigned on his behalf.
Mr. Reams "was a delightful, learned, articulate guy," said Mr. Ruvolo, who met Mr. Reams in the 1980s and for a time was an associate in a cellular telephone business.
Mr. Reams would tell funny stories about his time in the state Senate.
"You could tell that while he thought public service was important, he could see the humor in it," Mr. Ruvolo said. "He never took himself seriously. He took the job seriously."
After the 1966 loss, he opted out of electoral politics.
"He chose to raise the family and run a business. He had so many different interests. He was quite a sailor," his wife said.
Mr. Ruvolo said: "He saw the public career as something he had done, but was done with. He didn't dwell on whether he was trying to leave a legacy."
Still, he was interested in others' views.
"He was regularly known as the lone Democrat among groups of Republicans, but people wanted to be in his aura," his daughter, Molly Reams Thompson, said. "It's a rare quality to find someone who had a different view, but could be so respectful of your opinion."
Mr. Reams was a former trustee of Bowling Green State University, as his father had been. He had served on the boards of the Toledo Zoo, WGTE Public Media, the Better Business Bureau, and Fort Meigs. He served on the boards of the former Lucas County State Bank and Huntington National Bank.
He was supportive of his wife's role in arts advocacy.
"Frazier and I had a great love affair. We never went our separate ways," said his wife, former director of the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo. "He loved people. He loved talking with others. Frazier was a very happy person."
A competitive sailor, he participated in Chicago-Mackinac, Port Huron-Mackinac, and Mills Races in his vessel, Warpath.
Surviving are his wife, the former Susan Rodawig Weeks, whom he married June 29, 1963; sons Edward, David, and John Reams; daughter, Molly Reams Thompson; 12 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Services on Friday will be private. Public services will be scheduled later.
The family suggests tributes to National Museum of the Great Lakes; the Frazier Reams Public Affairs Scholarship at BGSU, named in honor of his father; or Epworth United Methodist Church, of which he was a longtime member.
This is a news story by Mark Zaborney. Contact him at [email protected] or 419-724-6182.
Published in The Blade on Jul. 22, 2020.
October 21, 1929 - July 20, 2020
(News story) Frazier Reams, Jr., who had been a lawyer, state senator, and the Democratic Party's 1966 nominee for governor, and who also owned radio stations in Ohio and Michigan - most notably WIOT and WCWA in Toledo - and served on civic, business, and university boards, died Monday in his Perrysburg Township home. He was 90.
He'd been in declining health, said his wife, Susan.
"Frazier, along with his wife, Susan, were just involved in everything that was good in this community," said Jim White, Jr., who knew him for more than 60 years. "He was a good friend to everybody."
James Ruvolo, a former chairman of the Lucas County and Ohio Democratic parties, said: "He left a mark in this community in politics and business."
Mr. Reams and Frederic D. "Fritz" Wolfe, the business owner, grew up together, and for decades celebrated their shared birthdays together. Both were ailing in 2019, and that Oct. 21 was the first birthday in decades that they were apart, Mrs. Reams said. Mr. Wolfe died April 5, 2020.
For Mr. Reams' 90th, though, Peter Cavanaugh, who was executive vice president and chief operating officer of Reams Broadcasting Corp., placed a balloon-festooned quarter-page "Happy Birthday, Mr. Reams!" ad in The Blade.
Mr. Reams led his broadcast group "to national and marketing dominance in Toledo, Flint, Muskegon, Cincinnati, and Dayton," Mr. Cavanaugh wrote. "He was the best boss we ever had, although he hated that word, and was always simply 'Frazier' to all with whom he worked."
Mr. Cavanaugh, a radio veteran who was with Reams Broadcasting from 1980-1993, said Tuesday, "He was a hero of mine.
"He never came on like a boss. He knew he was. You knew he was," Mr. Cavanaugh said. "But it was a collegial experience."
Mr. Reams became a partner in 1981 in the project to rehabilitate Fort Industry Square on Summit Street, which became home to Reams Broadcasting.
"He was the first to arrive and one of the last to leave," Mr. Cavanaugh recalled. "He talked to everybody and was an enthusiastic hands-on operator, without people feeling he was hands on."
Mr. Reams' father, Frazier Reams, Sr., founded WTOL Radio in 1938 and WTOL TV in 1958. The sale of WIOT-FM and WCWA-AM in 1994 ended 56 years of Reams family radio ownership.
Mr. Reams, Jr., was born Oct. 21, 1929, to Crystal and Frazier Reams, Sr. He was 3 years old when his father became Lucas County prosecutor and devised a legal strategy - murder conspiracy charges - to bring down the Licavoli gang that had terrorized the community. Mr. Reams, Jr., was in law school at the University of Michigan when he noticed a reference to his father's success with conspiracy laws to prosecute Thomas "Yonnie" Licavoli.
"I was somewhat heartened when I saw it, because I really wasn't aware of the specifics of the trial. I was so young at the time," Mr. Reams, Jr., told The Blade in 1999.
His father later served two terms in Congress, representing the Ninth District as an independent. The elder Mr. Reams died Sept. 15, 1971.
Mr. Reams, Jr., attended DeVilbiss High School for a year and Ottawa Hills High School for three years. After a year at Washington and Lee University, he served in the Navy. He resumed his studies, receiving a bachelor of arts degree in 1952 from Washington and Lee and his law degree from UM in 1955.
He was assistant counsel afterward for the Legal Aid Society. Lucas County Prosecutor Harry Friberg in 1957 named Mr. Reams an assistant prosecutor - a position to which Mr. Reams' father hired Mr. Friberg 24 years earlier.
Nearly two years later, Mr. Reams returned to law practice at the firm of Reams, Bretherton & Neipp. A Democrat, he served in the Ohio Senate from 1963-66.
"He was raised in this political atmosphere. It was a natural progression, being raised in that family," his wife said.
He became the Democratic Party's 1966 gubernatorial candidate, unsuccessfully challenging incumbent Gov. James A. Rhodes, a Republican.
"He went to all 88 counties, and it was wonderful," Mrs. Reams. Prominent party figures - President Lyndon Johnson, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, and U.S. Sen Robert Kennedy (D., N.Y.) - campaigned on his behalf.
Mr. Reams "was a delightful, learned, articulate guy," said Mr. Ruvolo, who met Mr. Reams in the 1980s and for a time was an associate in a cellular telephone business.
Mr. Reams would tell funny stories about his time in the state Senate.
"You could tell that while he thought public service was important, he could see the humor in it," Mr. Ruvolo said. "He never took himself seriously. He took the job seriously."
After the 1966 loss, he opted out of electoral politics.
"He chose to raise the family and run a business. He had so many different interests. He was quite a sailor," his wife said.
Mr. Ruvolo said: "He saw the public career as something he had done, but was done with. He didn't dwell on whether he was trying to leave a legacy."
Still, he was interested in others' views.
"He was regularly known as the lone Democrat among groups of Republicans, but people wanted to be in his aura," his daughter, Molly Reams Thompson, said. "It's a rare quality to find someone who had a different view, but could be so respectful of your opinion."
Mr. Reams was a former trustee of Bowling Green State University, as his father had been. He had served on the boards of the Toledo Zoo, WGTE Public Media, the Better Business Bureau, and Fort Meigs. He served on the boards of the former Lucas County State Bank and Huntington National Bank.
He was supportive of his wife's role in arts advocacy.
"Frazier and I had a great love affair. We never went our separate ways," said his wife, former director of the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo. "He loved people. He loved talking with others. Frazier was a very happy person."
A competitive sailor, he participated in Chicago-Mackinac, Port Huron-Mackinac, and Mills Races in his vessel, Warpath.
Surviving are his wife, the former Susan Rodawig Weeks, whom he married June 29, 1963; sons Edward, David, and John Reams; daughter, Molly Reams Thompson; 12 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Services on Friday will be private. Public services will be scheduled later.
The family suggests tributes to National Museum of the Great Lakes; the Frazier Reams Public Affairs Scholarship at BGSU, named in honor of his father; or Epworth United Methodist Church, of which he was a longtime member.
This is a news story by Mark Zaborney. Contact him at [email protected] or 419-724-6182.
Published in The Blade on Jul. 22, 2020.
(News story) Frazier Reams, Jr., who had been a lawyer, state senator, and the Democratic Party's 1966 nominee for governor, and who also owned radio stations in Ohio and Michigan - most notably WIOT and WCWA in Toledo - and served on civic, business, and university boards, died Monday in his Perrysburg Township home. He was 90.
He'd been in declining health, said his wife, Susan.
"Frazier, along with his wife, Susan, were just involved in everything that was good in this community," said Jim White, Jr., who knew him for more than 60 years. "He was a good friend to everybody."
James Ruvolo, a former chairman of the Lucas County and Ohio Democratic parties, said: "He left a mark in this community in politics and business."
Mr. Reams and Frederic D. "Fritz" Wolfe, the business owner, grew up together, and for decades celebrated their shared birthdays together. Both were ailing in 2019, and that Oct. 21 was the first birthday in decades that they were apart, Mrs. Reams said. Mr. Wolfe died April 5, 2020.
For Mr. Reams' 90th, though, Peter Cavanaugh, who was executive vice president and chief operating officer of Reams Broadcasting Corp., placed a balloon-festooned quarter-page "Happy Birthday, Mr. Reams!" ad in The Blade.
Mr. Reams led his broadcast group "to national and marketing dominance in Toledo, Flint, Muskegon, Cincinnati, and Dayton," Mr. Cavanaugh wrote. "He was the best boss we ever had, although he hated that word, and was always simply 'Frazier' to all with whom he worked."
Mr. Cavanaugh, a radio veteran who was with Reams Broadcasting from 1980-1993, said Tuesday, "He was a hero of mine.
"He never came on like a boss. He knew he was. You knew he was," Mr. Cavanaugh said. "But it was a collegial experience."
Mr. Reams became a partner in 1981 in the project to rehabilitate Fort Industry Square on Summit Street, which became home to Reams Broadcasting.
"He was the first to arrive and one of the last to leave," Mr. Cavanaugh recalled. "He talked to everybody and was an enthusiastic hands-on operator, without people feeling he was hands on."
Mr. Reams' father, Frazier Reams, Sr., founded WTOL Radio in 1938 and WTOL TV in 1958. The sale of WIOT-FM and WCWA-AM in 1994 ended 56 years of Reams family radio ownership.
Mr. Reams, Jr., was born Oct. 21, 1929, to Crystal and Frazier Reams, Sr. He was 3 years old when his father became Lucas County prosecutor and devised a legal strategy - murder conspiracy charges - to bring down the Licavoli gang that had terrorized the community. Mr. Reams, Jr., was in law school at the University of Michigan when he noticed a reference to his father's success with conspiracy laws to prosecute Thomas "Yonnie" Licavoli.
"I was somewhat heartened when I saw it, because I really wasn't aware of the specifics of the trial. I was so young at the time," Mr. Reams, Jr., told The Blade in 1999.
His father later served two terms in Congress, representing the Ninth District as an independent. The elder Mr. Reams died Sept. 15, 1971.
Mr. Reams, Jr., attended DeVilbiss High School for a year and Ottawa Hills High School for three years. After a year at Washington and Lee University, he served in the Navy. He resumed his studies, receiving a bachelor of arts degree in 1952 from Washington and Lee and his law degree from UM in 1955.
He was assistant counsel afterward for the Legal Aid Society. Lucas County Prosecutor Harry Friberg in 1957 named Mr. Reams an assistant prosecutor - a position to which Mr. Reams' father hired Mr. Friberg 24 years earlier.
Nearly two years later, Mr. Reams returned to law practice at the firm of Reams, Bretherton & Neipp. A Democrat, he served in the Ohio Senate from 1963-66.
"He was raised in this political atmosphere. It was a natural progression, being raised in that family," his wife said.
He became the Democratic Party's 1966 gubernatorial candidate, unsuccessfully challenging incumbent Gov. James A. Rhodes, a Republican.
"He went to all 88 counties, and it was wonderful," Mrs. Reams. Prominent party figures - President Lyndon Johnson, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, and U.S. Sen Robert Kennedy (D., N.Y.) - campaigned on his behalf.
Mr. Reams "was a delightful, learned, articulate guy," said Mr. Ruvolo, who met Mr. Reams in the 1980s and for a time was an associate in a cellular telephone business.
Mr. Reams would tell funny stories about his time in the state Senate.
"You could tell that while he thought public service was important, he could see the humor in it," Mr. Ruvolo said. "He never took himself seriously. He took the job seriously."
After the 1966 loss, he opted out of electoral politics.
"He chose to raise the family and run a business. He had so many different interests. He was quite a sailor," his wife said.
Mr. Ruvolo said: "He saw the public career as something he had done, but was done with. He didn't dwell on whether he was trying to leave a legacy."
Still, he was interested in others' views.
"He was regularly known as the lone Democrat among groups of Republicans, but people wanted to be in his aura," his daughter, Molly Reams Thompson, said. "It's a rare quality to find someone who had a different view, but could be so respectful of your opinion."
Mr. Reams was a former trustee of Bowling Green State University, as his father had been. He had served on the boards of the Toledo Zoo, WGTE Public Media, the Better Business Bureau, and Fort Meigs. He served on the boards of the former Lucas County State Bank and Huntington National Bank.
He was supportive of his wife's role in arts advocacy.
"Frazier and I had a great love affair. We never went our separate ways," said his wife, former director of the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo. "He loved people. He loved talking with others. Frazier was a very happy person."
A competitive sailor, he participated in Chicago-Mackinac, Port Huron-Mackinac, and Mills Races in his vessel, Warpath.
Surviving are his wife, the former Susan Rodawig Weeks, whom he married June 29, 1963; sons Edward, David, and John Reams; daughter, Molly Reams Thompson; 12 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Services on Friday will be private. Public services will be scheduled later.
The family suggests tributes to National Museum of the Great Lakes; the Frazier Reams Public Affairs Scholarship at BGSU, named in honor of his father; or Epworth United Methodist Church, of which he was a longtime member.
This is a news story by Mark Zaborney. Contact him at [email protected] or 419-724-6182.
Published in The Blade on Jul. 22, 2020.
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