Dorothy Schneider Fraker

68, of Arlington, VA, died suddenly on October 6, 2022, of cardiac arrest at Virginia Hospital Center.

Dotsy was born on Bastille Day, July 14,1954, in Midland, MI, to William and Jean Schneider (née Pottenger). The third of four children, she loved and admired her older siblings Margie and Michael, and was best friends with and protected her little brother Bill. Dotsy attributed her lifelong love of alpine skiing to the lessons given by Michael, and the family Christmas vacations in Michigan spent skiing with her father and Bill. She was thrilled to become an aunt at age 8, a role that deepened her connection with Margie. As a teenager, she often spent summer afternoons on the Kankakee River, water skiing with Bill or enjoying a leisurely pontoon boat cruise with her parents and family friends.

At the tender age of 9, Dotsy attended an 8-week session at the National Music Camp in Interlochen, MI, where she was first introduced to the oboe. She returned to the camp for many summers thereafter, continuing to play the oboe, despite the never-ending challenge of carving her own reeds for the instrument. She subsequently enrolled as a high-school student in the associated Interlochen Arts Academy, from which she graduated in 1972.

Following her father, Dotsy attended Carleton College in Northfield, MN, where she majored in English and earned a BA in 1976. As a first-year student at Carleton, Dotsy lived on 2nd Goodhue, across the hall from a third-year student, Thomas Fraker. Her extroversion overcame his introversion; they became a couple in the winter of 1973 and remained one for the next 49 years. In 1977, Dotsy joined Tom in Ann Arbor, where he was pursuing a PhD in economics at the University of Michigan. She worked for several years as a substitute teacher, bank teller, and clerk at the Big 10 Party Store before enrolling as a graduate student in Michigan’s School of Education, where she earned an MA as a reading specialist in 1980.

In 1981, after the birth of their first child, Dotsy and Tom left the Midwest and settled in Arlington. Dotsy was dedicated to her three children: Emily, Carolyn (1984), and Joe (1987). Highlights of their time together included picnics, visits to the Smithsonian museums, zoo excursions, and frequent ventures into nearby Glencarlyn Park. As a mother of young children, she formed friendships with other mothers, many of whom remained dear friends until her death. Dotsy shared her love of skiing with her husband, children, and grandchildren. In recent years, Tom and Dotsy spent many winter mornings skiing at Snowshoe Mountain, WV, always arriving before the ropes dropped to enjoy the freshest powder or corduroy.

Dotsy, like her mother, was a public-school teacher. She was passionate about her profession and made books come alive for children. For 19 years she taught 7th grade English at Kenmore Middle School in Arlington, where she was known for her poetry coffee houses and units on Langston Hughes. Because Kenmore was her neighborhood middle school, she frequently met current or former students while walking her dog or visiting shops in Arlington; those encounters meant a lot to her. In retirement Dotsy traveled the world with Tom, visited her grandchildren, skied, hiked in the Monongahela National Forest, and discussed books with her long-time friends. She always had a book to read.

Dotsy is survived by her husband of 44 years, Thomas Fraker; daughter Emily Metzgar and her husband Jordan Metzgar and their sons Jed and Nat of Christiansburg, VA; daughter Carolyn Fraker and her husband Valentin Kirykovich and their sons Adrian and Julian Kirykovich of Brooklyn, NY; son Joseph Fraker of Pittsburgh, PA; and beloved dog Sabio. She is also survived by her siblings Margery Painter, Michael Schneider, and William Schneider, along with many other relatives and friends. Dotsy was the glue that kept the family together. Her absence will be felt deeply by all who loved her.

A Celebration of Life for Dotsy will be held Saturday, October 22, at 2:00 PM at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Arlington. In lieu of flowers, you may make a gift to the Animal Welfare League of Arlington in her memory.