Francis Xavier Colaço

1938 - 2023

Colaço

Francis Xavier Colaço

Francis Xavier Colaço, of Washington, DC, passed away following a short illness on January 23, 2023.

Born in 1938 in Mumbai, India, to a Goan family, he was the third of 10 children of Maria Alda Amanda Ribeiro and Manuel Francisco da Paula Colaço. He graduated from St. Xavier's College with Honors in 1957. He would fondly recall that he left India in 1959 with only $50 in his pocket to pursue an MBA at the University of Detroit. He followed this with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1967.

A gifted economist, he began a successful career at the World Bank in 1969. He was based in Washington, DC, where he met his wife, Marie-Henriette de Pelet. He remained with the Bank for 28 years, ultimately serving as Director of the East Africa Department and Senior Advisor for East Asia and the Pacific. During this period, he worked for then Bank President Robert McNamara, the former Secretary of Defense under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. Francis traveled the world extensively and published numerous manuscripts and articles related to his work.

Over the course of his career, he also consulted and taught graduate studies at Brown University, Georgetown University, and The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

Francis's 52-year marriage to Marie-Henriette sustained him, along with his love for his two sons, Antoine and Alain. After losing Alain to random gun violence in 1992, he became an activist for gun reform and, together with his wife, established a scholarship for laboratory medicine in his late son's name.

Francis was warm, affectionate, loyal, and a storyteller. He enjoyed learning about people, was endlessly curious about the world, and shared his love of travel with his family. He visited all seven continents, highlights of which included introducing his family to the President of Uganda, visiting Antarctica, and sailing the Galapagos Islands. He spoke six languages, and took great interest in music and books. He was also passionate about his Goan heritage, publishing a cookbook based on his family's recipes in 2002.

Above all, Francis cherished family and the many close friends he made throughout his life. He is survived by his devoted wife Marie-Henriette and loving son Antoine. A doting and playful grandfather, he is also survived by his adoring grandsons Alain and Xavier. He loved and was beloved by treasured siblings, nieces, nephews, and cousins.

A funeral mass will be held at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, 3630 Quesada Street NW, Washington, DC 20015, on Saturday, January 28, 2023, at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family asks donations to be sent to either the Alain M. Colaço Memorial Fund (Checks Made Payable to: Raymond James Charitable, P.O. Box 23559, Saint Petersburg FL 33742, Memo Section: Alain M. Colaço Memorial Fund), the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, or a charity of your choice in his name.