Franz Habetler

Franz Habetler was born Jan 18, 1932 on a farm in Spitzzicken, Burgenland, Austria. He then attended trade school and apprenticed to become a master mechanic. In 1962 he came to the United States to visit and never left. He started his own repair business in San Diego in 1966. He later expanded to include sales of used cars. He was in business 37 years.

Franz purchased a home with a large lot so he could plant many fruit trees, which was his passion. He planted several varieties of citrus, plum, peach, apples and grapes. He learned of the California Rare Fruit Growers which led him to plant and raise mango, lychee, loquat and white sapote. His garden has more than 30 trees.

In addition to attending San Diego Rare Fruit Growers meetings, he was always willing to work their chapter booth at the San Diego County Fair. He enjoyed teaching fair goers what he knew about the rare fruits that could be grown in the San Diego climate.

He was a real people person. In addition to his business success, he enjoyed traveling, most recently in 2018 to Australia and New Zealand.

Franz passed away on December 31, 2022. He was preceded in death by his mother, Justina Habetler, brother Joseph (Pepe) and his son Kurt Habetler, who passed in 2020.