FOLEY, Ala. — Businessman Charles John Ebert Jr., who served as a business and civic leader in the city of Foley for over 50 years, died Friday, Dec. 10, 2010. He was 85.

He was a 1943 graduate of Foley High and served in the Merchant Marines during World War II and in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.

After graduating from Alabama Polytechnic Institute (Auburn University), with a degree in business administration, he returned to Foley in 1949 to join the family business, Ebert Insurance Agency, which he was semi-retired from.

In 1949, he returned to Foley to join the family business, Ebert Insurance Agency, which he was semi-retired from, as son Charles Ebert III now runs the business.

He was very involved in civic affairs during his lifetime. He was a founder of the Baldwin Heritage Museum and Foley Railroad Museum; a member of the Foley Optimist Club, the Foley City Council from 1984-2004, and the Foley Volunteer Fire Department from 1962-1993, serving as chief in 1976; he served on the Board of Directors of Riviera Utilities from 1961-2009; and was a supporter of the archaeology field program of the University of Alabama Museum of Natural History.

He also served as President of the Foley Chamber of Commerce and was trustee-director of Civil Defense for local schools. In 1997, he was named a Paul Harris Fellow by the Foley Rotary Club and Free Enterprise Person of the Year in 1983. He was also a Boy Scout Committee Member and served as Head of American Red Cross Fund Drives.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Evelyn Thomas Ebert; father, Charles John Ebert Sr.; and daughter, Louise Bouzan.

Survivors include his wife, Wyline Ebert of Foley; three daughters, Susan Endry of Gulf Breeze, Fla.; Wyline Bauman of Laguna Niquel, Calif.; and Amy Ebert Burleson of Atlanta; two sons, Tom Provost of Pensacola Beach, Fla. and Charles J. Ebert III of Foley; 13 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.