Rowland Cardwell Frazee, who was chair and CEO of the Royal Bank of Canada from 1980 to 1986, died on Sunday at age 86.
Born in Halifax, Frazee spent his entire business career with RBC. He joined in 1939, working at the branch in St. Stephen, N.B., where his father was the manager.
He was also a soldier who served with distinction in World War II.
After retiring from the bank in 1986, Frazee remained a member of the board of directors until 1992. He was appointed a companion of the Order of Canada in 1991 and was inducted into the New Brunswick Business Hall of Fame in 2001.
The bank said Frazee was a champion of corporate philanthropy and community investment, and was responsible for creating a focus on corporate social responsibility.
"Rowland Frazee presided over RBC during one of the more challenging periods of our history, and his leadership was invaluable to our company, our industry and our country," CEO Gordon Nixon said in a release.
He took a leave of absence during World War II to serve with the Carlton and York Regiment, First Canadian Infantry Division, with whom he participated in the July 1943 Allied landings in Sicily.
Wounded three times, Frazee distinguished himself in the Italian campaign and in northwest Europe, retiring in 1945 with the rank of major. After the war, he studied at Dalhousie University in Halifax where he graduated with a bachelor of commerce degree in 1948, at which time he returned to the bank.
He served in increasingly more senior positions and was named president in 1977, chief executive in 1979 and chair-CEO in 1980.
