Reverend Fraser the ‘reconciler’ celebrates 100 years - Retired Baptist minister has married 4,775 couples

Retired Baptist minister, the Reverend Alberga Oliver (A.O.) Fraser, marked his 100th birthday on Tuesday at his home in Marvin’s Park, Ocho Rios, with a steady stream of persons made up of family members, friends, and other well-wishers, turning out to wish him well.

Reverend Fraser first served for 22 years at Mount Nebo Baptist Church in St Catherine before spending the last 25 years of his tenure at Ocho Rios Baptist prior to retiring in 1997.

His bubbly spirit and keen sense of humour belie his advanced years. He has been married to his wife Inez for 66 years. They have been blessed with five wonderful children and six grandchildren.

“I’m feeling on top of the world,” Reverend Fraser said when The Gleaner enquired.

It was a 30-year-old Alberga Fraser who decided to depart his place of birth, Askenish in Hanover, in order to relocate to St Ann in 1950 to take up his appointment at Mount Nebo Baptist Church. He served there until 1972 when he was then asked to do duties at the Ocho Rios Baptist Church, and for the next quarter of a century, he served well.

Describing himself as a reconciler, Reverend Fraser said God has blessed him with the ability to resolve issues,and he has done a lot of that over the years.

“I’m not boasting, I’m a reconciler,” he said. “God has equipped me with a blessing that is not common to everybody, the blessing of being able to reconcile people who are apart. Wife and husband, friend and friend, church member and church member, married people who have parted,” he revealed.

“I have done a whole lot, and I have married 4,775 couples, some in America, some in Canada, and some in Jamaica,” he added.

He describes his wife as “most blessed”. “I have one of the most blessed women in the world. A young girl once asked her pastor, ‘Minister, who is your minister?’ And the quick reply was, ‘My wife.’

“I can say the same thing. My wife has always been my minister. I didn’t choose her God chose her for me,” he said.

CONTINUED PEACE OF MIND

Reverend Fraser said he was hoping for continued peace of mind and to continue serving in some ways.

“Looking back on times gone by and how God has been good and how people have been kind, if I had to live my life over again, I would do the same thing.”

His wife, who will mark her birthday on December 26, has been very supportive of him over the years. She said there is much to be thankful for.

“We have had a wonderful life together, and we work along together,” she pointed out. “The Lord has blessed us with the children, and they’ve all done well, and the grandchildren are doing well, so we have much to be thankful for.”

Among the several persons who turned out to mark the occasion was a team from the St Ann Municipal Corporation, headed by Mayor Sydney Stewart and including Ian Isaacs, councillor for the Exchange division, in which Reverend Fraser lives.

“He’s a wonderful human being who is so deserving of a long and fruitful life,” Isaacs said of Reverend Fraser.

“I’ve known him for many years, and he has assisted in guiding many persons my age on the right path. I feel very elated that he has achieved this milestone. They’re a very wonderful couple. You can’t speak about Rev Fraser and not speak about Mrs Fraser because she’s equally a wonderful person,” Isaacs added.