Julie Moreno Franco (pictured), a veteran industry salesperson who worked at Oroamerica and Charles Garnier, died of cancer on March 5, at age 54.

Franco started in the industry at 1982 at Oroamerica at age 17 and eventually became sales manager of the wholesale division. In 2007, she joined Charles Garnier and became vice president of sales. For the last year of her life, she sold sales events.

Heera Moti salesperson Andy Concool, who worked with Franco at Oroamerica and Charles Garnier, remembers his longtime colleague as a first-class salesperson who was always on her game.

“She had an amazing amount of confidence and had huge energy,” he says. “She was great on the phone. She worked harder than anyone. She was always on top of things. She was incredibly detailed and just great with people.

“She would put a smile on everyone’s face because she just had a smile that would just light up the room.”

A post on Facebook written by Franco’s son Stephen says, “[A]nyone she crossed paths with felt her energy. She loved ‘living out loud,’ and never let being diagnosed with ovarian cancer control the way she lived.

“She loved being a mom more than anything. She was the strongest woman we know. It makes us proud she made her wishes known and made her own decisions until the very end. … Her love was infectious and her smile lit up the darkest of days for many of us.”

Franco was predeceased by a daughter Breonda. She is survived by her two sons, Stephen and Dominic.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a funeral will not be held until April.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in her memory to the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance. A Facebook fundraiser can be found here.

(Photo courtesy of Andy Concool)

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