In Memoriam: Bruce Fraser (professor emeritus)
Bruce Fraser, age 85, passed away on April 18, 2024. At the end he was surrounded by his loved ones, his children, their spouses and several grandchildren in the area as well as his wife of 40 years, Polly Ulichny.
He leaves 4 children: Lauren, Douglas. Jeffrey and David Fraser, and their spouses Mariana Glusman, Haelan Song Fraser and Michelle Morrow. He leaves 9 grandchildren scattered around the country and the world: Sherif Zaki, Manar Zaki, and Tarek Zaki; Abby Fraser, James Fraser and Lizzy Fraser; Hannah Fraser and Kyla Fraser; and Miles Fraser. He also leaves a great granddaughter, Sofia Zaki, of Sherif Zaki and Francesca Borghi, as well as in-laws, nieces, and nephews.
Bruce touched many people in a special way. He was a surrogate father, a teacher and an advisor with high standards and great patience. In his 42 years at Boston University, many a student and doctoral candidate will attest to that. He was also an indefatigable mediator. Bruce considered it his job to help others do their best job possible and to smooth discord in contentious negotiations so all could be as happy as they could be with the outcome. Win-win was a motto.
Anyone who knew Bruce was treated to his wit and wry Scottish humor. The twinkle is his sky blue eyes would give away his fabrications. There is a family game that all learned to play at some point. A statement is followed by a pun, and another and another for about 20 rounds! The kids are so fast its dazzling to hear. And the grandkids are also great players. Language is revered in the family.
Bruce was always working. If he thought he had to wait for someone or an appointment, he always brought along “work.” It was often a blank yellow tablet on which he sketched out his ideas of how a particular aspect of language works, descriptively and structurally. Over the years, he published works in pragmatics on a great many topics, often laying the groundwork for others to build on. He has articles on politeness, hedging, political discourse, doctor-patient discourse, lying, and discourse markers to name some. His final project was organizing for pamphlet publications more than 2,000 pieces of humor he had collected over 30 years. “Laughing is good for you,” he used to say, and he thought there should be more of it in the world. He “worked” in his office every day and helped anyone and everyone he could. Not surprising, he became an Eagle Scout at the youngest age possible—13.
He was a good and brilliant man who acted from his deep-seated best instincts.
There will be no service, but if you would like to make a donation in Bruce’s name please consider donating to The Rhode Island School for Progressive Education (RISPE) https://givebutter.