Clovis ‘Honey Man’ dies after years of selling honey, sharing humanity on side of road
A Clovis man who spent the past 18 years selling honey on the side of rural roads as part of his “secret life” has passed away.
Richard Sanchez, AKA the Clovis Honey Man, died Tuesday night at 91 years old at his home.
Sanchez had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and spent the past five weeks in hospice care.
A longtime grocery store worker, Sanchez sold honey as a way to make a little extra money in retirement. But eventually, Sanchez’s side business became such a passion that he’d even leave in the middle of family gatherings to sell honey.
He’d sell honey in heavy rain or high heat. Even after having hip surgery and being forced to use a walker.
Why such dedication?
His family never fully understood — until recently.
“He had such a bigger life than we realized,” said granddaughter Joanna Scarborough. “He didn’t really talk a whole lot about his honey business with us.
“After we put it out there on social media that he couldn’t sell honey anymore and was entering hospice care, so many people who we never met or knew shared their stories of the ‘Honey Man.’ He was so popular.
“All this time,” Scarborough added, “he was doing the Lord’s work.”
Selling honey, sharing humanity
As Sanchez’s family would discover, the Honey Man’s hobby in retirement was much more than simply selling honey.
It was an opportunity for Sanchez to meet random people, share Bible scriptures with strangers, or simply be a warm and welcoming personality in hopes of helping others feel better about their day.
Maybe have them feeling better about humanity.
“We’ve read hundreds of comments and messages from customers who all have a similar story,” said Scarborough. “My grandpa would ask if he could pray for them. Maybe he’d tell them he noticed a little sadness in them. Or maybe just teach them about honey and have them smiling when they left.”
Sanchez was never a preacher or pastor, deacon or priest. His granddaughter said she wouldn’t even describe him as being overly religious, but he did like to lead the family in prayer at holiday gatherings.
“He did know the Bible front and back,” Scarborough said. “But my grandma, she’d joke that he said the same prayer all the time.”
So for Sanchez’s family to learn that he’d been “spreading the good news” to others through selling honey, it caught some of them by surprise.
“It’s wild,” Scarborough said. “Kind of like he had this second, secret life.
“We’d tell him that he was too old to be on the side of the road and needed to be careful. That he didn’t need to sell honey all the time. He’d say ‘I have to go to work.’ And I’d say ‘Grandpa, no you don’t. Enjoy spending time with your family.’ Didn’t know what he was really doing.“
Meanwhile, Grandma Joan, Sanchez’s wife of 72 years, often encouraged her husband to leave the house for the sake of socializing and keeping busy.
Open for business
Sanchez typically started his days during retirement by waking up early to have a 5 a.m. breakfast meeting with friends at McDonald’s on Herndon and Clovis avenues.
“His whole McDonald’s crew,” Scarborough said.
Then, he’d shift his attention to getting his honey stand ready for the day — typically set up near the intersection of Temperance and Olive avenues — and made sure he was open for business by 10 a.m.
Jars of honey would be neatly lined up on a six-foot table that was positioned under a canopy and next to Sanchez’s van.
Sanchez would then patiently sit in the shade, waiting for any customers.
On good weather days, he’d stay open along the roadside until 3 p.m.
Sanchez wasn’t selling his own honey. But he’d learned how to collect honey from local beekeepers and bottled the honey in his garage.
“It was quite impressive, the process of making it happen,” Scarborough said. “It really kept him going.”
It wasn’t the most lucrative business.
But Sanchez was persistent about being open as frequently as possible.
“One time, he was really ill and had come out of the hospital,” Scarborough said. “He was supposed to rest. But he was setting up the honey stand. He was unstoppable.
“To find out what he was really doing and the impact he had on others through all of these responses, it’s pretty special.”
Sanchez, a Colorado native who moved to Southern California then relocated to Clovis some 20 years ago, is survived by his wife.
In addition, Sanchez is survived by four of six children, as well as eight grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, and five great-great-grandchildren, with one more on the way.
Sanchez was one of 12 children and is survived also by his sister Fay Santillanes.
Scarborough said family members will likely keep selling honey in honor her grandpa, though they know it will be tough to match the Clovis Honey Man’s dedication.
