Saul Sanchez

Meatpacking plant worker Age: 78

Saul Sanchez, a beloved worker at JBS beef plant in Greeley, died April 7, 2020, of COVID-19 complications. He was 78.

Sanchez, originally from Mexico, left a high-profile job at Juarez’s largest pharmacy to bring his wife and children to the U.S.

After settling in Greeley, Sanchez got a line worker job at JBS – where he’d stay for 30 years and earn the nickname “Papa” or “Grandpa” among his colleagues.

Two weeks after being hospitalized with COVID-19, Sanchez died. He was the first COVID-19 casualty of JBS’ Greeley facility.

Sanchez’s death thrust workplace practices of the hard-hit meat processing industry into the national spotlight and led Sanchez’s family to speak out against JBS, which cultivated a perceived “work while sick” culture as dozens of its employees came down with COVID-19 in March and April 2020, according to an investigation by the Fort Collins Coloradoan.