Cora Anna Frazee, 84, of Derby, Kansas, passed away Tuesday, July 7, 2026, at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita.

Cora was born in Greensburg, Kansas, on May 19, 1942, to Orval Phillip and Sarah “Ellen” (Aldrich) Goertz. When just a few months old, her dad was called into the Army and he moved Cora and her mother back to Medford, Oklahoma with family. A year and nine days after her birth, on May 28, 1943, a brother Vernon Ray Goertz was born. They lived in Medford from 1942 until 1959 when her father, needing a job, moved them to Winfield, Kansas.

After graduation in May of 1960, Cora went to work at William Memorial Hospital as a Nurse Aide. Cora always said “I’m going to be a nurse.” An RN, Miss French, encouraged her to do so and she decided to try LPN school. Miss French helped get her enrolled at Jane Phillips Memorial Hospital in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, for LPN school. In 1964, she graduated with flying colors, even though she lived in five different places that year. She took state boards later that year and passed, making her the nurse she wanted to be. She worked at Winfield and then moved to Wichita with a friend and worked at Wesley for two years.

In July of 1966, she married Wayne Ray Smalley at Grace United Methodist Church in Winfield. To this union, two children were born, Chad and Marsha Smalley. In early 1975, they divorced.

On July 24, 1975, she married Ted L. Frazee in Belle Plaine, Kansas. In December of 1975, Ted was hired to be an Administrator of a nursing home in Wichita and they moved there and bought a home. She worked at the nursing home alongside him in the office and on the floor when needed. Cora worked at nursing homes and doctor’s offices throughout her life as a nurse. Doctor Office nursing was her favorite and after 17 years at Family Medicine East, she retired December 31, 2011. Her husband Ted died five months later on June 5, 2012.

In addition to her parents and husband, Cora was preceded in death by daughter Marsha Stout and brother Vernon Goertz.

She is survived by her son Chad Smalley (Marilee) of Derby; her sister-in-law Cindy Goertz of Winfield; her grandson Noah Phillip Stout; four step-grandchildren, Jeremy Stout, Derek Stout, John Ed Cook (Alix), Wendy Jo Ryan; her adopted grandson Cody Malchose; seven step-great grandchildren, Brylee and Emarie Stout, Luke Ryan, Jordan, Carson, and Kelsey Cook; and Amora Malchose.

Memorial services will be held at 11:00 AM, Wednesday, July 15, 2026, at Miles Funeral Service. The family will greet visitors from 10:00 to 11:00 that morning. Interment will be held at 2:00 PM that afternoon at Sumner Memorial Gardens in Wellington.

A memorial has been established in Cora’s name for the Shriner’s Hospitals for Children. Contributions may be made through the funeral home.