Soon after the new year began, a family lost its father and husband, Tustin High School lost its beloved coach, and the Orange County water polo world lost a young talent.
Tustin High School and the North Irvine Water Polo Club and families are mourning the loss of their coach, Francisco “Paco” Gonzalez, after he died Jan. 2 at the age of 28.
“My world has been turned upside down. I still can’t comprehend why my husband was taken away at such a young age,” Gonzalez’s wife and high school sweetheart, Josabeth, told The Epoch Times.
Francisco “Paco” Gonzalez’s wife Josabeth (L) and another family member at a candlelight vigil held by the North Irvine Water Polo Club in Irvine, Calif., on Jan. 4, 2023. (Courtesy of Mai Lam)
Growing up in a water polo family, Gonzalez was deeply influenced by the participation in the sport by his father Francisco “Pancho” in the early 1990s, as well as that of his uncles, aunts, and two siblings….