Schools
Memorial Fund to Honor SMC Groundskeeper Killed in Shooting
Carlos Franco and his daughter were shot as they exited the lot at 20th and Pearl Streets in Santa Monica.
A memorial fund has been established in the honor of a groundskeeper who was killed, and whose daughter was critically wounded and later died, in Friday's shooting rampage.
The fund was started for Carlos Navarro Franco, a 68-year-old groundskeeper at Santa Monica College who was gunned down during the shooting rampage that ended on the campus Friday, according to a letter written by SMC President Chui L. Tsang.
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"Carlos was truly a family man. He was a dedicated husband and father and an integral part of the Santa Monica College family,'' Tsang said in the statement. "His dedicated work to the campus grounds was enjoyed by students and visitors for two decades. He will be sorely missed.''
Tsang said Franco worked for the college for 22 years, and those close to him said he devoted his life to his work and to his family. Carlos' son died two summers ago in a car accident.
"Carlos was a very, very hard worker. He loved his job,'' Franco's supervisor Tom Corpus said. "He tried to make people happy and make sure he did the best job he could. He was all about his job. He was just a great asset to the college. Everything Carlos did was for the college and for his family.''
Tsang said Franco and Marcela were on their way to meet his eldest daughter for a doctor's appointment the afternoon he died.
"Every time I visited him, he would talk about his daughters and his family,'' said nephew Mario Franco, a member of SMC's Workforce and Economic Development Department. "He was a big family man. Everything he did was literally for his daughters.''
Franco and his daughter were shot as they exited the lot at 20th and Pearl Streets. Two summers ago Franco's son died in a car accident.
The Santa Monica College Foundation has established The Carlos Franco Family Memorial Fund. Donations may be made at foundation.smc.edu/FrancoMemorial or by mail to The Santa Monica College Foundation, 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90405. Also, officials are planning a campus-wide memorial.
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