Crash victim remembered by parents
The parents of a 19-year-old Clayton Franco — a Sonora High School graduate, rookie cowboy and cross country champion — are mourning his tragic and sudden passing in an automobile crash near MiWuk Village on Monday night.
“I’m always going to have the questions why this happened, but one thing we really feel good about, Clayton lived more in his 19 years than people have lived in their whole life,” said his father, Joel Franco, in a phone interview with The Union Democrat on Friday.
Clayton Franco’s parents described him as a normal young adult, but with some exceptional qualities and skills.
When he wasn’t wearing running shorts (he was a youth cross country star who participated in the Junior Olympics and state competitions), he wore a cowboy hat, Wranglers and a family heirloom belt buckle emblazoned with “Sonora” worn by his uncle and great-grandfather.
Clayton Franco wanted to be known as a cowboy, said Joel Franco and Clayton Franco’s mother, Janelle Franco.
And he didn’t just wear the outfit, he lived it, they said.
Clayton Franco worked and lived at Kennedy Meadows Resort and Pack Station every summer between eighth grade and his junior year, assisting owner Matt Bloom with the camping-pack trips into the wilderness.
“It was his best memory. He loved being in the mountains, he loved horses and he loved packing,” Janelle Franco said.
After graduating from Sonora High in June, he was caretaker and ranch manager for Willy Ritts while living out of a cabin behind Lyons Reservoir.
Clayton Franco worked every day he had off from school, his parents said, often waking up at 4:30 a.m. and returning home after dark.
“He was an amazing person, the hardest working person I’ve ever met,” Joel Franco said.
Clayton Franco bought his first horse,
Junior, right around the start of the pandemic. The “love of his life,” was his border collie and labrador mix, Lady, which he got in October 2020.
His nickname, “Lil’ Joe,” came from a N. Howard “Jack” Thorp song called “Lil’ Joe the Wrangler,” about a young man who joined a group of cowboy ranchers, but died tragically in a stampede.
“His whole cowboy world, the ranchers, they all know him as Joe,” Janelle Franco said.
Clayton Franco died Monday night when a 17-year-old crashed and overturned a 2001 Toyota Tacoma westbound on Highway 108 near Koinonia Court in Mi-wuk Village on Highway 108 while allegedly under the influence of alcohol.
Clayton Franco, a passenger in the vehicle whom California Highway Patrol reported as “unrestrained,” was ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene after life-saving measures were performed.
The driver, who sustained minor injuries, was flown to Doctors Medical Center in Modesto and later booked into the Mother Lode Regional Juvenile Detention Facility on suspicion of felony driving under the influence. His name has not been released because he is a juvenile.
Clayton Franco was on the cusp of momentous decisions about his future. He planned to spend the winter packing in Wyoming and after that, only he knew, maybe the military, or joining a hot-shot crew.
“He just wanted a full summer of living out in his little cabin in the woods, then he was going to come up and figure out what was next,” Janelle Franco said.
Just the previous Saturday, he had packed out of the cabin and brought everything home.
Joel Franco said he had seen his son the previous week before he left town for the weekend. But the Sunday before the crash, Joel Franco sent his son multiple texts telling him how much he loved him.
“Of course that’s kind of hard, but I’m glad I sent him those texts,” Joel Franco said.
His mother last saw Clayton Franco on Monday morning while he was getting new tires for his truck. That same day he had just attended a funeral for a friend who died of COVID-19, but she said he still had a “glow” of optimism.
The family learned later of other mystifying coincidences before and after Clayton Franco’s death.
That morning, Clayton Franco pulled into Day-o Espresso and made his typical request: “surprise me.” The baristas, whom his parents said he knew, gave him a drink called “Heaven.”
Later, when he and the driver were driving “up the hill” to go hunting, they said he asked that “Lil’ Joe the Wrangler” be played at his funeral. He also asked for a photo that could be shown at his funeral, they said.
The parents added that a group of Clayton Franco’s friends from Calaveras County prayed for him on Thursday and, shortly after, found a ring on the ground that said, “Angels above look down on ones they love.” They brought the ring to Joel and Janelle Franco.
“It makes me feel a little more at peace,” Joel Franco said.
Clayton Franco has two younger siblings, Cole, 16, and Mckenna, 13.
The family has had at least 50 people each day since the crash visiting or staying with them.
“It’s obviously beyond words to describe how hard it is, but the community support has been so helpful to get us through this,” Joel Franco said.
“We’ve always been a tight family,” Janelle Franco added. “We always traveled together.”
Joel Franco reinforced that his son’s attributes were discussed and appreciated even before his passing.
“One thing Clayton was known for was his huge smile. People didn’t start talking about him after he died, they were talking about it before,” Joel Franco said. “He really would come in and just have this huge smile and make everyone feel good.”
A celebration of life for Clayton Franco is scheduled for 1 p.m. Oct. 3 at Kennedy Meadows Resort and Pack Station. The event is open to the public, and the family said they will be camping there over the weekend to receive guests, friends and family.
His parents also said they wished to thank the Holman family, Sonora high school cross country/ track coaches Frank Garcia and Corri Lan, Willy Ritts, Paul Mcilroy from Curtis Creek and Matt Bloom for their mentorship of their son.