Obituary

Charlene Frazier Sizemore
(June 8, 1925 - October 30, 2014)

Charlene Marie Frazier Sizemore, 89, of Huntington passed peacefully on Thursday, October 30, 2014 at St. Mary’s Hospital. She was born in Wayne County, Huntington, WV on Monday, June 8, 1925. Charlene was one of five children, two boys and three girls of which two are surviving: Maxine Frazier Jarvis and Dolores Frazier Williams. Her father, Leander Frazier was a city fireman and her mother, Armilda Clark Frazier was a homemaker. Charlene was preceded in death by her husband, Jack Nolan Sizemore and her surviving immediate family members include: her daughter, Patrice Marie Sizemore Murphy of Huntington, husband Robert and their sons, Robert Nolan (Nell) Murphy of Georgetown, Ky. and their children Jack and Emma and Matthew Wess (Robin) Murphy of Greenville, SC. and their children Caroline and Campbell. Mrs. Sizemore also had a son, Brett Nolan Sizemore of Carmel IN., wife Katherine and their daughters, Emily and Lauren. Charlene, at an early age was expected to take responsibility for her actions and have a realistic sense of right and wrong. She was not raised naïve and she was instilled with values such as honesty, integrity, compassion, the importance of education, and to respect the rights of others. These values guided her actions throughout her life. She was a champion for women and their right to be treated fairly and equally. Mrs. Sizemore was double promoted in grade school, salutatorian at Vinson High School in 1941 and started Marshall College at age 16. She worked at the Keith Albee paying her own way through college, graduating with honors in 1946 with a degree in Mathematics and Social Studies. She was President of the Delta Zeta Sorority. After college she taught advanced math at Kenova High School. In 1951, she began working for Sylvania Electric Products and was trained as a Statistical Engineer in charge of Quality Control for the Huntington Plant and receiving a Secret Clearance from the United States government during the Korean War. She was paid a comparable salary to men, a significant accomplishment for a twenty six year old during this period in time and a credit to Sylvania management. In the mid 1950’s she resigned from Sylvania to become a full-time mother and homemaker. Mrs. Sizemore was a very active volunteer in the community for decades. She was president (2 years) of the Huntington Woman’s Club and on the Executive Board for 24 years. An active member in P.E.O.; Huntington Council of Garden Clubs; Huntington Panhellenic Association; Inter-Club Council; Huntington Galleries; National Management Association; First Presbyterian Church and numerous other organizations. She was a founding board member and served nine years for John Marshall Medical Services. An interest in a news article prompted her to attend an open meeting on Consumer Affairs and this along with her interest in quality control sparked her passion for consumer advocacy thus leading her to found the “Consumer Association of WV” and become its first President. She worked closely with Ralph Nader and Virginia Knauer, Special Assistant for Consumer Affairs during the Nixon Administration. She received two – 3 year appointments from Governor Arch Moore serving as Chairman of the Consumer Advisory Council of WV and numerous other appointments including ten years with the Consumer Advisory Council Underwriter Laboratories. Charlene was a national leader and activist for consumer protection. She was a strong advocate for the consumer developing numerous educational programs to educate consumers about product quality and their rights. She helped thousands of West Virginia families resolve consumer complaints against businesses selling inferior products. This exposure led her to become the first woman to serve (Appointed by President Carter and President Ford for eleven years) on the founding board of the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) where she represented consumer interests within the building community. NIBS focused on bringing together various government, industry, labor, and consumer interests to focus on the identification and resolution of problems that hamper the construction of safe, affordable structures for housing, commerce, and industry throughout the United States. Charlene Sizemore was an extremely strong, intelligent woman and an activist for consumer and women’s rights, heavily involved in helping her community but most committed to her role as mother and wife. Her presence, influence, and advice will be missed. Charlene would like to recognize her close friends and members of the “Elegant Rowdies”: Evelyn Carpenter; Shirley Dudley; Betty Ruth Gilbert; Barbetta Neal; and Terry Reeser. Services will be held 2:30 pm Sunday at the First Presbyterian Church. Interment will follow at Woodmere Memorial Park. Friends may call Sunday 1:30 pm until service time at the church. Refreshments will be served. Expressions of sympathy may be made to the First Presbyterian Church, Hospice of Huntington, or an organization of one’s choice.