euskalkultura.eus

07/07/2020 - Hanford, CA, USA

Frances was born on July 8, 1934 in Utebo, Spain. She peacefully joined our heavenly Father on July 7, 2020 a day short of her 86 th birthday.

Growing up during the Spanish Civil War she and her five siblings endured many hardships.

At the age of 20 she moved to Madrid, Spain where she became a telephone operator for the La Telefonica.

In 1959 she went to visit her only sister, Pilar, in Los Angeles, California.

It was then that she met the love of her life, Paco, and they were married three short months later.

After they married, they moved to the Central Valley where they pursued their dream of owning their own dairy.

Their business was successful and this gave them the opportunity to move back to Spain. They spent the next five years living in Pamplona with their two daughters surrounded by family along with the culture that they grew up in and were so proud of.

Once returning to the United States they started a dairy in Hardwick, followed by one in Fresno, which finally led them to owning and operating Cleix Dairy in Hanford, California for 25 years.

They took much pride in building their family business.

After they retired from the dairy business, they sought out a new venture, Cleix Fish Market, a replica of the one that they owned in Pamplona, Spain.

Frances was well known for being hard working and for her strong Catholic faith.

A few of her greatest passions were cooking, gardening, and taking care of others.

Everyone always said her food was the BEST because it was made with patience and love!

In her later years she loved nothing more than watching her grandkids participate in a variety of sports, especially soccer, and most of all "Dirt Dog" Softball! This brought her so much joy, and it was a relief to us all when she realized there was a difference between balls and strikes.

Paquita along with her late husband Paco, over the years were proud members of Fresno, Los Banos, Bakersfield, and the Ventura Basque Clubs.

They were very proud of their Basque culture and enjoyed spending countless hours amongst their lifelong friends.

Her greatest love of all was her FAMILY.

She is proceeded in death by her beloved husband, Frank "Paco" Cleix, her parents and four brothers. She is survived by her daughter Angie Cansler and her husband Russ, daughter Lisa Harger and her husband Jeff. Grandaughters, Tasha Tomlinson and her husband John, Morgan Cansler, Hannah and Halle Harger, Lindsay Notrica, Jaclyn Wiley and her husband Jessup, Jake Cansler and his wife Ashley. Great Grand Children, Gracyn, Frankie, Bennett, Isabelle, Harper, and Liv. She is also survived by her sister Pilar, and two nephews.

She leaves behind her beautiful legacy that we will cherish forever!

Visitation for Frances will take place Friday, July 10, 2020 from 5-7pm at Whitehurst McNamara Funeral Home, 100 W. Bush St., Hanford, CA.

A prayer service will begin at 6pm also at the funeral home. Burial will be private. It was Frances' wish that in lieu of flowers those that desired to remember her, make donation to the American Cancer Society.

(published in Fresno Bee, Legacy.com on Jul. 10, 2020)