Dottie May Frazier
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|---|---|
| Born | Dorothy Adele Reider[1] (1922-07-16)July 16, 1922 |
| Died | February 8, 2022(2022-02-08) (aged 99)
Long Beach, California
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| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Diver and dive shop owner |
Dottie May Frazier (July 15, 1922 – February 8, 2022) was an American diver, designer, and dive shop owner. Her life is chronicled in her autobiography, Trailblazer: The Extraordinary Life of Diving Pioneer, Dottie Frazier. She was the first female scuba instructor and the first female dive shop owner.[2]
Dorothy Adele Reider was born on July 15, 1922, in Long Beach, California, to parents Francis and Laura Davis Reider.[3][4] She was injured in the 1933 Long Beach earthquake.[5] She graduated from Long Beach Polytechnic High School in 1939.[6]
Frazier began teaching freediving in the 1940s.[3][7] During World War II she worked for Douglas Aircraft Company.[6] In 1955, Frazier became a certified scuba instructor and was the first woman in the United States to do so.[8][9] She also created some of the first wetsuit patterns for women.[10] The suits were developed under the name Penguin Suits in conjunction with Frazier's dive shop, Penguin Dive Shop.[11][3] Penguin was the first female-owned dive shop.[12] After the birth of her third son, Frazier founded Aqua Families, a club of divers who dove with their children.[4]
Frazier had four sons[11] and was married three times. She died in Long Beach on February 8, 2022, at the age of 99.[1][6]
Frazier was inducted into the Women Divers Hall of Fame in 2000.[13] In 2019, Frazier was awarded the Historical Diving Society's Diving Pioneer Award.[14]
