Augi

August Bisi was born on April 12, 1921 in Selma. His parents were immigrants from Switzerland. He was raised on a farm in Conejo. Being the only son, he took over farming from his parents. He raised cattle, had fields of alfalfa, flowers for seed and cotton to name a few and also had a dairy for many years. For several years he had winning dairy cows and received many honors through the Dairy Association.

Augie attended Conejo Elementary and Laton High School. He was a graduate of the class of 1939 and recently attended the Laton Alumni Reunion in October as one of the oldest alumni in attendance.

He married Doreen Alderman in 1952 and they were married for almost 60 years. Augie is survived by four children, 10 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren.

Augie joined the Lions Club in 1967 and was an active member. His greatest joy was making the 8 mile trek to Laton to mow the lawns, plant flowers, and keep the clubhouse and grounds looking their best. He was in charge of “parking” for the Laton Lions Rodeo for over 40 years as it is a job he enjoyed. His determination and pride in parking those horse trailers just the right way - to maximize the parking lot to its greatest capacity garnered him many friends along the way. Year after year, repeat cowboy participants looked forward to greeting him. And of course, he loved to argue with the bull riders that wanted to park inside the lot even after he told them the parking lot is full!!

One year, just before his 88th birthday, he was out in the parking lot helping park cars, even though a few days later he was in the hospital getting a hip replacement. That’s dedication folks!!

Augie served on the Laton School Board for several years in the 70’s and was “Laton Citizen of the year” in 1976. He and Doreen were honored as the “Old Timers” in 2000 at the 36th Annual Laton Lions Rodeo

Augie was also extremely active when it came to the Big Fresno Fair. He loaded his little pickup so full, it is a wonder that the tires held up at times. He enjoyed going to country farmers that he grew up with, farmed alongside, and had many longstanding friendships through the years. When he lived on his ranch in Conejo, he had huge gardens and would grow specialty squash, pumpkins, watermelons, grains and anything else that the time and seasons permitted. He received many first, second and third place ribbons!

Every year, when asked if he was ready to turn over “the Parking” duties, he always eluded to “next year”…. Recently, he did “resign” from the parking detail, but still continued to show up at the rodeo grounds - regularly to help as needed. Augie was dedicated, hardworking, loyal, trustworthy, committed and much more! There seems to be an abundance of adjectives that describe this man.