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(1952–2026)
Pamela R. Frese, professor of anthropology at The College of Wooster, passed away on May 4, 2026, in Wooster, Ohio. Frese served her community for 40 years as a colleague, mentor, teacher, and “nourishing mother” inspiration for all who knew her.
Pam Frese completed her undergraduate work at the University of Maryland and earned her PhD in anthropology at the University of Virginia, where she was one of the last students of Victor Turner. In his honor, Frese organized a Ndembu wedding ritual reenactment (I reluctantly played the groom) at the 1985 AAA annual meeting. For decades thereafter, Frese accompanied Edith Turner to the AAA as her supporter, sharing hotel rooms and meals, and then organized a memorial in her honor at the 2025 AAA annual meeting.
After several years at North Texas State, Frese came to Wooster in 1986 and helped to establish the anthropology program there. Widely known for her expertise on Anglo-American life-cycle rituals and American religious holidays and traditions, Frese taught courses on religion and symbolic anthropology, contemporary American society, food and cultures, and gender studies.
During her career, Frese edited or co-edited volumes on American rituals, gender identities, military culture, and classroom experiential learning; in addition, she published articles and book chapters on gated retirement communities, the police, and Neopagan religions. For decades, Frese presented papers and/or organized sessions at AAA meetings, often shepherding her and her colleagues’ papers into edited volumes. Frese was a member of the American Anthropological Association and a member of the General Anthropology Division of the AAA, Central States Anthropological Society, Society for Feminist Anthropology, and the American Ethnological Society. She was also an active member of the Society for Humanistic Anthropology and a charter member of the Society for the Anthropology of North America. Frese was widely quoted in national media outlets, including the History Channel, The New York Times, USA Today, and The Los Angeles Times, and she appeared on CNN and multiple radio talk shows. Frese also actively engaged with Wooster College groups, such as the First Generation Student Organization and the Conduct Board, and community organizations, including the NAACP and Wooster Police Department.
Strongly influenced by the Turners, Frese highly valued experiential learning in the form of ritual reenactments, especially as they engaged students and made learning more fun and memorable. A gifted and inspiring teacher, Frese mentored many of her students and those of her colleagues (including my own) into anthropology or related careers. Creating a Wooster tradition sustained for more than 30 years, Frese and her students constructed a Day of the Dead altar outside her office each fall to celebrate and honor those lost. After Frese’s passing, a similar altar outside of her office allowed students and members of the community to leave offerings to honor her legacy.
Pam Frese is survived by her husband, Simon Gray; her son, James; her daughter, Selena Draper; and four grandchildren.
(John M. Coggeshall; edited from the College of Wooster’s obituary)