Following a long illness, Sarah Cutts Frerichs, Ph.D., of 229 Medway Street, Providence, died on April 10, 2008, at the Bethany Nursing Home in Providence, RI. She was the daughter of the late Rev. Dr. Allen S.and Arrie M. Cutts. She was married for 59 years to her beloved husband, Dr. Ernest S. Frerichs.
Born in Athens, Alabama, she spent her early childhood in Moultrie, Georgia, and her adolescence in Montgomery, Alabama, and in Pensacola and Jacksonville, Florida, before moving to Liberty, Missouri, where she completed her A.B. degree at William Jewell College. She entered the Graduate School of Brown University in 1947, completing A.M. and Ph.D. degrees. She became a retired member of the professorial staff in English at Bentley College, Waltham, MA in 1994. In earlier years she served on the faculties of Barrington College, Rhode Island College, and Bridgewater State College. She was a former Director of the Composition Laboratory in the General College of Boston University.
Her field of specialized knowledge was Victorian Literature, especially Victorian biography. She was well known for her publications on the work of a Victorian novelist, Elizabeth Missing Sewell, a widely published author, educator and lifelong resident of the Isle of Wight. Her professional associations included the Modern Language Association, the American Academy of Religion, and the College English Association.
Travelling abroad, especially with her family, was a favorite experience. She combined longer periods of residence in England, Germany and Israel with extensive travel in Western Europe. Additional travels included South and Central America as well as New Zealand and Australia.
Raised in the best traditions of American Southern hospitality, she opened her home frequently to students, colleagues, and friends. Of particular concern to her were the Brown international students whom she welcomed to her home for more than 35 years. Warmth, graciousness, gentleness and sincerity were hallmarks of her life.
She participated in such community activities as Women of Brown which she served twice as President and also as Coordinator of Training and Education for Volunteers-in-Action. Of importance in her life was her active participation in the life of Mathewson Street United Methodist Church. She served in various leadership roles in Mathewson Street Church, participating in numerous committees and serving as church lay leader.
She was a person intensely attached to her family including her daughters-in-law and saddened by the early loss of two of her adult children, as well as a grandchild, and a daughter-in-law. Central to the values she lived was the Christian faith in which she had been reared. For many of her students she was a role model in her effective combination of wife, mother, and academic professional. She was devoted to the Victorian age and would have welcomed moving with her family into that era.
She is survived by her husband, Ernest; by her son, David, of Warren; her daughters-in-law, Barbara and Pamela, by four grandchildren; Justin Allen of Los Angeles, April of Los Angeles, David, Jr., of East Providence, and Marcia of Athens, Maine; by four great-grandchildren: Justine and Jirzeel Mariella of Los Angeles and Alex and Conner of Athens, Maine. Deceased children include her son, John Allen.and her daughter, Elizabeth Ann (Betsy).