Joseph C. Frilot's Obituary
Joseph C. Frilot, age 73, son of a proud New Orleans Creole family who’s great, great-grandparents were born into slavery and were children at manumission died on March 15. He was a loving companion and husband of 43 years to his wife, Joy, whom he leaves behind to mourn him along with twin sisters, Aundre and Andrea, and brother Roland (Terri) and many nieces, nephews and cousins in the extended family. He was predeceased by sister, Stephanie and parents, Eloise and Calvin Frilot. He had been in ill health since he suffered a brain bleed in early January. Joseph Frilot was a uniquely gentle man, so loved by almost everyone who met and made his acquaintance. His interests were many, beginning with his joining in to protest the Viet Nam War when he was a student at California State University Los Angeles where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in history. The New Orleans that Joe was born into was of course the segregated South and all that means – he had to walk to the back of the bus, drink from separate public faucets and vacate the sidewalk to avoid a racial conflict. That is why he actively pursued the telling of the Black experience in America and the relevance of the civil rights movement to that lifelong effort. His work was that of a budget analyst in the Water Division at the City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. In retirement he moved to Tucson and followed new interests in imparting to others, his great love of jazz. In this way, through the UA Osher program (OLLI), Joe found the opportunity to teach his knowledge and understanding of the history of jazz, saxophone jazz and piano jazz. When the Pandemic struck, Joseph was teaching a class in silent film -- a class that now will forever go unfinished.
Graveside services will be held at Evergreen Cemetery on Tuesday, March 23 at 2 pm. Please wear a mask.
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