The life of Charles A. Fracchia Sr. was an only-in-San Francisco story. Fracchia, who died on July 21 at the age of 83, loved this town and devoted a good part of his life to that passion. He was the founder of the San Francisco Historical Society, a prolific writer of books and articles about The City, a teacher and one of the very best San Francisco raconteurs I ever met.

Fracchia’s ties to The City, and its culture and history, were deep and sometimes surprising. He was a friend of Gov. Jerry Brown, one of San Francisco’s most famous sons, from their pre-Jesuit days, but left that religious order a year or so before Brown.