One of Fresno County’s fiercest farming advocates, Phil Larson, dies at 92
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- Phil Larson, a longtime Kerman farmer and sales representative, died at age 92.
- Larson served three terms on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors from 2003 to 2015.
- He championed agriculture and helped bring the West Fresno Regional Center to southwest Fresno.
Phil Larson, a longtime farmer, elected official and voice of Kerman High School football games, died Thursday. He was 92.
Raised in Kerman, Larson had several careers over his lifetime, including working 37 years as a sales representative for the Wilbur Ellis Company in San Joaquin.
But it was perhaps his role as a farmer and a member of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors where Larson earned his reputation as an unabashed advocate for agriculture and his westside community.
Larson grew raisin grapes, cotton and almonds in the Kerman area and served three terms as a member of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors from 2003 to 2015.
Fellow Kerman-area farmer, Brian Pacheco, who succeeded Larson on the board, called his longtime friend and mentor a “kind and gentle family man.”
Pacheco praised Larson’s accomplishment’s as a supervisor, having brought the West Fresno Regional Center to southwest Fresno. The center allowed residents in southwest Fresno to have access to benefits and services within walking distance of their neighborhood.
He spearheaded library improvements to Mendota and Tranquillity and worked with West Hills Community College District in blending the County Library with the new Firebaugh college campus, Pacheco said.
“He called his service as a county supervisor his ‘second career’ and covered western Fresno County with honor and dignity,” Pacheco said in a statement.
As a member and president of the Fresno County Farm Bureau from 1996-1998, Larson stood tall among agriculture advocates.
Ryan Jacobsen, president of the county farm bureau, said Larson was unapologetic in his support for agriculture in the central San Joaquin Valley and its role in feeding the nation.
“He was one of the biggest defenders this Valley has ever seen,” Jacobsen said. “People would accuse him of having a special interest, and he would say yes he did. He was prideful of representing agriculture and the Valley, sometimes that is hard thing to do in today’s world.”
It was Jacobsen’s grandfather Don Laub who encouraged Larson to get involved in the Fresno County Farm Bureau in the late 1990s.
In his hometown of Kerman, Larson may be better known as the Kerman High School Lion’s football announcer, a job he held for 20 years.
Former Fresno County Farm Bureau president Paul Betancourt was Larson’s friend for 45 years. They farmed almonds and lived through the droughts, price drops and damaging weather.
Betancourt retired from farming full-time in 2019, but kept in close contact with Larson through their church, La Vina Covenant Church. He saw Larson and his wife Joyce on Wednesday.
He described Larson as a man of faith who was passionately supportive of his community and his industry. As a former Marine, Larson was also fierce when he needed to be.
In recent days, Betancourt recalled a reflective conversation he had with Larson.
“He said, ‘Why has God been so good to me. I have been amazed,’” Betancourt remembered. “For all of his bulldog Marine toughness, he lived with a sense of humility and grace.”
This story was originally published April 24, 2026 at 3:37 PM.
