Manuel "Jesse" Franco

Manuel Jesus (Jesse) Franco passed away peacefully, in his home, May 19, 2026. He was born on December 22, 1935, in Crystal City, Texas, to Jose (Joseph) Angel and Aguda (Agnes) Cantu Franco.

As a young man, he became a recruiter for Michigan area farmers. He would seek out and employ people who needed jobs; these jobs were in the farming industry and consisted of cultivating and harvesting farmer’s crops. When farmers needed help, Jesse was always summoned because he was considered trustworthy, responsible and dependable. He always kept his word!

Later in life, he chose to drive semi-trucks for Kitchen Farms, in Elmira, MI. At this time, he met the Love of His Life- Henrieta Jean. They married and decided that trucking was a lucrative business, so, with his wife’s help, he became the owner of several semi-trucks. Since he had worked for Kitchen Farms, Jesse would often be called upon to haul their crops to various parts of the country; a job he enjoyed, until he decided that being on the “road” all the time, was very tiring and taking him away from his beloved Jean.

Because of his passion for farming, which had been his upbringing in his early years, he and Jean decided to try planting strawberries on their acres of land; which became The Franco Strawberry Farm. The enjoyment of planting, cultivating, harvesting, and hiring people to pick their strawberries became his “pride and joy”. Many people would comment that he had the “best” and “biggest” strawberries, in the area. He often sold them to various roadside venders and local grocery stores.

Jesse and Jean were devout Catholics at St. Mary’s of Hannah Catholic Church near home. They always donated strawberries, or potatoes, to St. Mary’s annual Chicken dinners.

Every year, at the end of the strawberry season, he and Jean would have a “big” party to celebrate and thank the workers and staff for all their efforts. Everyone, within miles who knew them, were invited to attend the celebration- family, friends, and “visitors”; passersby were always welcome with a warm smile.

Jesse, as friends knew him, is survived by his sister, Alma, from Mt. Pleasant, MI; children, Joshua Gravelyn of Remus and Michael Benson of Warren and Salvador Guzman Franco, from Crystal City, Texas; his beautiful grandchildren; great-grandchildren, many nephews, nieces, and cousins.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Joseph and Agnes Franco; siblings- Jose, Ramon, Gilberto, Rolando Franco and his sisters, Victoria Franco and SanJuanita Simpson Teeple.

Anyone who knows Jesse is welcome to attend; family is eager to enjoy conversations about his life and history with you.

A Funeral Mass will be held 12 noon, Wednesday, May 27, 2026 at St. Mary’s of Hannah Catholic Church, Kingsley. The family will greet friends starting at 11:00 am.

Jesse will be buried next to his wife, Jean at St. Peter’s Cemetery, Mt. Clemens, no graveside services are being held.

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