We grieve in the sudden and tragic passing of our friend and colleague, Oliver E. Frascona.
Colorado lost a tremendous father, pilot, attorney, educator, entrepreneur, and real-estate-law guru when Oliver Ezard Frascona passed away in a tragic airplane accident in Erie, Colorado on Aug. 31, 2014. He was 67.
Oliver was born in Boulder on June 28, 1947, to Joseph Lohengrin Frascona and Jean Ezard Frascona. In 1965 he graduated from Fairview High School, where he and his father co-authored the school fight song. Oliver attended the University of Colorado Boulder, where he received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1969. While at CU, Oliver taught himself to play the keyboard and started a rock ‘n roll band, Cryptkickers, which later merged with his Lambda Chi Alpha brother William Thomas Hobbins’ band to form the Bakersfield Charter. Oliver managed and promoted the band, which played ’60s and ’70s rock at clubs throughout Denver and Boulder, as the band members worked their way through college. It was at CU, while participating in ROTC, that Oliver first learned to fly airplanes.
After college, Oliver was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy Reserve, and trained in flight systems at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida. He earned his real-estate broker’s license in 1972, and his Juris Doctor from the University of Denver College of Law in 1974, after just two years of study. Working initially from the basement of his home, he began the practice that developed into the law firm now known as Frascona, Joiner, Goodman & Greenstein, P.C.
Oliver took his responsibility as a law partner and an employer to heart, and invested great time and energy into the well-being of his colleagues. He treated the firm like an extension of his family. Although he rejected conventions, he loved traditions, and took great pleasure in planning the annual firm BBQ – complete with baking hundreds of cookies for colleagues, clients and guests. In recent years, he delighted in playing with the reunited Bakersfield Charter at the BBQ. And as a consummate lover of surprises, he thoughtfully selected annual holiday gifts for the firm – never admitting that he came in after hours to place them on everyone’s desks.
Members of the firm recently held a 40th anniversary celebration, which Oliver had helped to plan. It was a tribute to Oliver’s greatness, and an affirmation of the firm’s commitment to carry on his tradition of excellence and service.
Oliver was a ferocious legal advocate with an insatiable passion for real estate. He dedicated his life’s work to real estate law, representing and advising developers, builders, lenders, buyers, sellers, landlords, and tenants. He was perhaps best known, however, for being one of the nation’s premier educators of REALTORS®. There may never be a more dedicated advocate for and champion of REALTORS® than Oliver Frascona. As a leading member of the real-estate brokerage community recently commented, “He was as close as our industry would ever get to a celebrity in the business. He was larger than life. He was an excellent presenter. He made our annual classes vibrant and real and relevant. He was very generous with his time and always available to answer questions.”
Oliver was a member of the Real Estate Educators Association and the Colorado Real Estate Educators Association, which named him Educator of the Year in 1990. He also was a member of the Colorado Association of Certified Closers; the Colorado Association of REALTORS®, which named him Educator of the Year in 2008; and the Boulder, Colorado and American Bar Associations.
Whether you met him once or knew him for a lifetime, Oliver was impossible to forget. With his bushy, handlebar mustache and three-piece suits, his quick wit and boisterous laugh, he left an impression everywhere he went. He was intensely loyal and never cowered in the defense of what was just and right. He was a demanding perfectionist, but he was also the first to offer help to someone in need, and he would often open his home to a new friend on a moment’s notice. He had a mischievous sense of humor and loved to teach through teasing.
Oliver lived life with incredible gusto. He had two speeds – 100 miles per hour and asleep, and he approached everything he did with incredible charisma, generosity, brilliance, loyalty, and passion. He was the proud father of two children, Alexander and Monica Frascona. Always the loudest voice on the sidelines of their sporting events, he was fiercely protective of them. He shared with his children his indomitable excitement for life, his unwavering commitment to fairness and justice, his dedication to serving others, and his love of adventure.
Iconic, legendary, never boring, sweet, thoughtful, ingenious … Oliver Frascona will be missed by his family, friends, the law firm, the Colorado real estate community, and the world at large, on which he left a brilliant imprint.
Oliver is survived by his son and daughter. He was preceded in death by his parents. A private memorial service was held on Sept. 13, 2014. A Celebration of Life was held on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2014 at the Omni Interlocken Hotel, 500 Interlocken Blvd., Broomfield, Colorado.
