Selma lost a dear friend Tuesday when Charles Frazer Jr. passed away from pancreatic cancer.

Frazer was born in Selma on March 22, 1944, to his mother, Kitty Lamar, and father, Charles Stephen Frazer. Frazer was a graduate of A.G. Parrish High School and the University of Alabama.

Frazer was a long-time Selma businessman who took over running The Frazer Group in 1976 from his father. Frazer’s youngest son, Bob, is set to take over the insurance agency in November.

“He was very professional in his insurance practice,” said Kincey Green, who was friends with him for more than 40 years. “[He] believed in protecting the privacy of his customers the old fashion way, was always attentive to the needs of his customers and always delivered to his customers the best service in town.”

Charles was the name he was given at birth, but most people he came in touch with knew him as Boo.

“I don’t know where he got the name from,” Bob said. “I always remember people calling him that as long as I’ve been able to understand it.”

Bob said it was the time Boo spent with him and his siblings and the lessons he taught them that inspired him to be a father.

“As a dad he was just always there. He was a great listener, he had great wisdom and he coached us in sports,” Bob said. “He made it to where I personally always looked forward to being a dad.”

Bob has a lifetime full of memories with his father, but the one that stands out to him the most is his effort to help Church Street United Methodist Church grow.

“I was a young teenager, and I just remember it was a tough economic time, and he helped the church make a tremendous step that paved the way,” Bob said.

“It’s where they built the building on Church Street where they do Leika’s and the children’s programs, and they renovated some other buildings.”

Bob said it was a blessing to be a witness to his father’s faith and remembers the family praying together and having devotional before heading off to school each morning.

Frazer was an inspiration to many.

“When my dad got sick, I was 13 years old, and when he died I was just 16,” said Cullie Pouncey, a friend of Boo’s.

“Several men in our community stepped up to be a father figure for this broken hearted teenager. Boo Frazer and his family took me in, allowed me to be part of the family and treated me like his own.”

Being an integral part of the community also meant being a big part of his church family. Boo was a lifelong member of Church Street United Methodist.

“We served together on many church committees and ministries, lived in the same neighborhood, and enjoyed sharing meals together with his wife, Coralie, over the course of several decades,” Green said.

“To say he will be missed is what everyone says about someone they loved who has departed. Boo will be greatly missed.”

Frazer is survived by his wife, Coraline Woodfin Frazer; three children, Charles Stephen Frazer III, Elanor McLaurin Frazer Beard and Robert Barron Woodfin Frazer; and five grandchildren.

Services are scheduled for Friday, Oct. 23 at 11 a.m. at New Live Oak Cemetery.