She carried on family mission to save Fresno history. Community mourns her death at 76

Sally Caglia lived her family’s legacy, both as a businesswoman and a public servant.

When she received the Leon S. Peters Award from the Fresno Chamber of Commerce at a ceremony last year, she was the the third member of her family to be given the honor, which spotlights business success and also public service, private philanthropy and ethical leadership.

Caglia died Dec. 10 at the age of 76.

“Sally was a vital part of our family, our businesses and the Fresno community,” the family’s company, Caglia Environmental, wrote in a social media post following her death.

“Sally embodied the true essence of servant leadership that defined our father Frank Caglia’s legacy, and her absence will be deeply felt.”

Caglia had worked in the family business her whole life, starting as a cashier at the old Orange Avenue landfill, which her father bought and started running in 1941. She eventually became executive assistant at his other business: Electric Motor Shop, which opened in 1913 and remains in downtown Fresno to this day.

She later served as executive administrator for all Caglia enterprises.

She was also involved in numerous community and civic organizations such as the Cultural Arts Rotary Club and Cultural Arts District Association, the research and development board for the Fresno/Clovis Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the city’s Historic Preservation Commission. She helped created and curate a number of well-known fundraiser events in town, including Storyland and Jazz, the Shenzen Stroll, the annual carnival at St. John’s Cathedral and the St. Elia Festival.

She also helped preserve her father’s collection of Fresno history.

She served on the board of the Warnors Center for the Performing Arts after her family donated the historic theater to create the nonprofit in 2005.

As the story goes, Frank Caglia bought the downtown theater in 1973, essentially saving it from demolition.

It was one of several landmarks the family, and Caglia specifically, looked after.

There was also the Van Ness Arch, which the Caglia family restored in the 1980s and was maintaining well into the 20-teens, when it came under threat by the High-Speed Rail project.

Caglia suggested at the time that the arch be moved to Tuolumne and Fulton streets, across from Warnors Theatre.

“Two Fresno icons saved and cared for by my dad,” she said.

Caglia was also there and taking pictures when the final piece of the old Fresno County Courthouse, that iconic cupola, was moved to a museum at the Fresno Fairgrounds in 2015. The family had been paying to keep it in storage for the Fresno Historical Society.

“I’m thrilled to death,” she told The Bee at the time.

“It’s going to be living in perpetuity so the community will enjoy it.”

A rosary for Caglia is planned for 10 a.m. Dec. 27 at Holy Spirit Catholic Church on Champlain Drive, with a lunch at Pardini’s to follow. Guests have been asked to wear a touch of leopard print or turquoise jewelry in celebration of Caglia’s life (and style).

At her request, Rod Stewart will be played at the lunch.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the School of St. Jude in Tanzania, Africa; Fresno County Historical Society; Nancy Hinds Hospice; Cultural Arts Rotary Club Foundation; PBS Fresno; or the Wounded Warriors Foundation.