Joseph Castro, John Harris, other Fresno-area deaths left impact on 2025
John Harris was an icon in California agriculture — a farmer, cattle rancher, philanthropist and horse racing enthusiast who turned his family’s namesake ranch into a pit-stop oasis just off the I-5 west of Fresno.
His death, on July 3 at the age of 81, left a mark on the central San Joaquin Valley of California.
But Harris wasn’t the only notable figure lost to the region in 2025. Here is a list of other notable deaths, mostly taken from reporting in The Fresno Bee.
* William “Bill” Pratt was a 19-year-old sailor on the USS Nevada when the ship was attacked Dec. 7, 1941. Pratt was Fresno’s last remaining Pearl Harbor survivor when he died Jan. 23 at the age of 103.
* John Shafer was a prolific Fresno musician, whose day job was running Whitie’s Pets, the independent pet store his family operated since the 1960s. He died March 26 of non-Hodkins lymphoma. Following his death, Shafer was honored with the Legacy Award from the Valley Music Hall of Fame.
* If Larry Bastian’s name is unfamiliar, his songs certainly are not. Starting in the 1970s, the Porterville native wrote songs for Buck Owens, Conway Twitty, Sammy Kershaw and, most notably, Garth Brooks, who had a string of Bastian-penned hits, including “Unanswered Prayers,” “Rodeo” and “The Old Man’s Back in Town.” Bastian died April 6. He had been living on a ranch in Springville.
* Terrance “Terry” Bradley worked for Clovis Unified School District for five decades, until his retirement in 2009. During his tenure as superintendent, the district received multiple state Distinguished Schools and national Blue Ribbon awards, and had one of the highest Academic Performance Index score in California. Bradley is the namesake of Clovis Unified’s newest comprehensive high school campus, which opened to Clovis South High students a month after Bradley died on 17 at 81.
* Derrick McElroy left Fresno in the 1990s and gained notoriety in the Bay Area hip-hop scene as part of the Living Legends crew. He returned to his hometown in the 2000s, but continued to perform (as a solo artist and with the Living Legends) up until his Aug. 17 death. He was 51.
* Joseph Castro was a trailblazing educator who left a complicated legacy. A native of nearby Hanford in Kings County, Castro was the first San Joaquin Valley native and first Latino to serve as president of Fresno State, where he served nearly a decade before becoming chancellor of the entire California State University system in 2021. He ultimately resigned over mishandling of harassment incidents while at Fresno State. Castro died Aug. 24 at age 58.
* Mike Briggs was a musician-turned-politician, whose internet TV station (CentralValleytalk.com) was a lifeline showcase for local musicians, authors and artists, especially those in the Tower District. Briggs died Aug. 31. He was 66.
* Bud Elliot was a longtime TV news personality, who came to Fresno in the late 1980s after already establishing himself on a then-unknown 24-hour news station called CNN. Along with Stefani Booroojian he became the face of KSEE 24’s nightly news brand. He died Nov. 18 at the age of 76.
* During a three-term run as sheriff of Fresno County, Steve Magarian oversaw one of Fresno’s most notorious murder cases: a three-year investigation that led to the conviction of Dana Ewell for the murder of his family in 1992. Magarian died Sept. 22. He was 82.
* Like Elliott, Janet Stoll-Lee was a staple of TV news in Fresno through the 1980s and ’90s, serving KMPH as an on-air anchor, reporter and managing editor. Later in life, she was the public information officer for the Clovis Police Department. Stoll-Lee died Sept. 12 at the age of 65.
* Before Victor Conte became famous as a central figure in the BALCO steroids scandal in the 1990s (which implicated Barry Bonds among others), he was an athlete who ran track for McLane High School and Fresno City College. He also played music with his cousin Bruce Conte, who went on to be a member of Tower of Power. Victor Conte died Nov. 3. He was 75 years old.
