Frank Saco

SACO, Frank, was born on July 10, 1946 in Bakersfield, Calif. He attended Arvin High School where he served as President of the Future Farmers of America his senior year. After graduation, he attended Bakersfield College and Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. In 1966, Frank was drafted into the U.S. Army and went through basic training in Fort Ord, Calif. In 1967, Frank introduced the innovative drip irrigation system to the Superior Farming Company and the San Joaquin Valley. In 1976, Frank moved to Escondido, Calif., where he was employed by Reed Irrigation as an engineer, where he designed and built and installed drip irrigation systems. He branched out to Central and South America where he designed and supervised the installation of irrigations systems. For a short period he taught a course in hydraulics in the Ag Department in the University of Caracas, Venezuela. When Frank moved to Sebring, Fla., he started Ag Water, Inc. His expertise in irrigation gained him much recognition and was sough t after as a consultant. He traveled extensively designing, building and supervising the installation of irrigation systems in many countries such as Costa Rica, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia and Israel. He will be remembered for his resilience, his strong sense of determination, his generosity, his kind heart, and his loyalty to his friends. Frank will also be remembered for his love of animals. He is survived by his two brothers, Bobby and Isaac Saco of Lamont, Calif.; sister, Susannah Saco of Chula Vista, Calif.; and one niece, Nancy Deanne Collins, her husband Marcus, and their two children, Nicholas and Kianna of San Diego, Calif. Frank died peacefully at his home on March 30, 2004. Memorial services will be held at the Stephenson-Nelson Funeral Home, 4001 Sebring Parkway in Sebring, Fla. on Thursday, April 8, 2004 at 6 p.m.