Mother of a Fallen Soldier
The Lori Fraher Project
Rebuilding the Dreams of the Mother of a Fallen Soldier
Lori Fraher is a Gold Star mom, her son, Lance Corporal Ray Holzhauer, was killed in Iraq on
March 15, 2007. At his funeral, his mother, Lori Fraher, was approached by Illinois Lt. Governor
Pat Quinn to see if he could help the family in any way. Fraher asked for help re-building her
roof. Subsequently, Lt. Governor Quinn reached out to President Michael Yauger of Teamsters Local
786, a decorated combat Vietnam veteran and the liaison for the Teamsters Helmets to Hardhats
program and the Will Grundy Building and Construction Trades Council.
When the Local Teamsters union got involved in the project, they found many problems with the
home. Therefore, the unions concluded that they would build Fraher a new home rather than just
replace the roof. "At first, Lori Fraher had huge reservations about re-building her home,"
explained Elizabeth Belcaster of the Local Teamsters 786 division in Dwight, IL. "It was the home
her son was raised in."
"We could understand what she was going through," said Belcaster, "but we had to convince her
that this was important and something her son would have wanted her to do." Belcaster explained
that one of the key components with getting Fraher to agree to the project was the fact that "many
who would be involved with the project were former military from the Helmets to Hardhats program."
Many different types of tradesmen in the area were pulled into the project, including cement
workers, carpenters, electricians, sheet metal workers, operating engineers, painters, laborers,
plumbers and iron workers. Fraher knew that the workers who participated in the program would
understand the risk and dedication that it takes to serve the country. "Having veterans work on the
project helped her realize she was carrying on her son Ray's memory," said Belcaster.
Ryan Johnson, one of the tradesmen who was also an Army platoon leader and casualty liaison
at Fort Carson came out to lend a hand on the project site. Johnson explained how helping with this
project has personal relevance to him as an Army veteran, especially having worked with so many
military families. "The government can only do so much and its great when all these people and
private institutions can ban together to make a difference in the lives of our local military
families," he said.
Dwight, IL is an area with a high density of military families, with a determined support
network for projects like the Fraher's house. "Out of 4,800 people in the town 86 guys are now in
Iraq," Belcaster said. “As a result, the people in this town understand the sense of community and
are always willing to lend a helping hand. The Fraher house is a community project. Those who come
back take it upon themselves to really get involved and help out the workers that are involved with
the project, always asking what they can do."
Fraher is one of such long time supporters; having participated in making quilts for service
members long before her son even entered the service. For years, Fraher joined other women in the
Dwight area to maintain a group called Save Our Soldiers, which sends homemade quilts to service
members.
"It's one of the greatest projects ever," explained Belcaster, "the Marines sent us a letter
and said that this is by far one of the best projects a gold star mother has received. Coordinating
the project was a lot of work but I truly love my job," she explained. "These are life changing
things for everyone, from the guy who puts the first nail in the house to the mother whose house we
are rebuilding."
