Francesco A. Scigliano |
| Posted 2025-05-03 by mhenderson |
| Published by Mohave Daily News Online from Apr. 18 to Apr. 25, 2025 - Bullhead City, Arizona - FRANCESCO A. (AL) SCIGLIANO F.A. (Al) Scigliano passed away peacefully at Silver Creek Assisted Living, in Bullhead City, Arizona on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. He was born on April 29, 1930 in Flint, Michigan to Maria and Achille Scigliano. On New Year's Eve 1949, Al met the love of his life, Sally, and they were married November 11, 1950. They remained at each other's side for 66 years until Sally's death in 2016. Al was a devoted father, and the couple raised three sons with a firm but loving hand. Al was known as a man who "got things done." A painter by trade, he developed innovative methods to paint large pressrooms at the Fisher Body automobile plant without hindering production. Whether treading high steel beams or on a barn roof, Al had a prodigious sense of balance. He was also an excellent framing carpenter who could figure roof loads in his head and generally knew how to make anything work. In the mid 1970's Al and Sally discovered The Mohave Valley. The couple loved the river, the casinos and the mountains. They moved full-time to Bullhead City in 1982. Once in Bullhead City, Al's "get it done" attitude reached full flower. When sewage problems plagued the Holiday Shores area, Al stepped up and helped lead the Riverside Sanitary District to resolve the problems. As the north end of the Valley grew, Al realized incorporation was the only viable way to ensure residents received needed services. It was Al's vision that the area would be transformed from a collection of real estate developments into a unified, coherent community. To this end, he led a citizen-initiated incorporation drive in 1984 and succeeded in forming a city where others had failed before him. Al served on the first City Council and was instrumental in organizing the Bullhead City Police Department. He and his wife, Sally, were a driving force in convincing policy makers that a planned location for a sewage treatment plant along the Colorado River would be better used as a public park. Thanks to the couple's foresight, Rotary Park stands on the site today. The physical expanse of Bullhead City is also due to Al's foresight. He wanted a city large enough to accommodate existing neighborhoods and future growth but also of a manageable size to minimize police response times. As he said, "We are not doing this piecemeal- we are building the future." Al's activism continued into his late 80's. He stepped out of retirement to lead another citizen's group, an effort that successfully wrestled control of the drinking water distribution system, from one owned by a multi-billion-dollar corporation, to its rightful place as a municipal service. Bullhead City today is due in no small part to Al's persistence, to his willingness to engage everyone, no matter their views, and to his belief in doing the right thing at the right time and for the right reason. Al was fun-loving and gregarious. Proud of his Italian heritage, he was a loving and devoted family man. He was a man of vision, and despite some people's doubts, he really did know something about everything- at least he could convince you that was so! Al was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Sally; his parents; his sisters, Emilia, Benicia and Livia; his brothers, Archie and Umberto (Hugh); sister-in-law, Nancy Jolicoeur and brother-in-law, Walter (Bud) Jolicoeur. Al is survived by his three sons; Stephen (Susan) Scigliano of Bullhead City, Arizona, David (Nancy) Scigliano of Bushnell, Florida and Bruce Scigliano of Sheridan Wyoming; five grandchildren; six great- grandchildren; numerous nieces and nephews; sister-in-law, Patricia Scigliano; and his cousin, Carl (Pam) Brunson. A Celebration of Life is planned for a later date. The family wishes to thank caregiver Margaret (Maggie) Ryan, the staff of Silver Creek Assisted Living and members of Serenity Hospice, who all gave wonderful and compassionate care to Al. |
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