Simon Eduardo Malo

Simon Eduardo Malo, 87, of Manhattan, Kansas, passed away on Saturday, December 5, 2020. He was born May 30, 1933, in Cuenca, Ecuador. He was preceded in death by his father Federico, his mother Lucia, and his brother Jaime. Simon is survived by his wife of 35 years Valerie Wright, his brother Patricio and sisters Esperanza and Diana, and his children from his first marriage, Maria, Beatriz, and Victor, and seven grandchildren.

Simon left Ecuador in 1951 for Honduras where he received an undergraduate degree from Escuela Agricola Panamericana (also known as El Zamorano) in 1954. He received a Bachelor's, Master's, and Ph.D. in horticulture from the University of Florida. His research was on mangoes and avocados and he became a worldwide authority on tropical fruits. He worked for many years on the research faculty at the Tropical Research and Education Center in Homestead, Florida. In 1979 Simon was recruited by the Board of Trustees of Zamorano to become president of his alma mater. In his 14 year tenure he transformed a three-year school for men into a co-educational, four-year, internationally-recognized college of agriculture. In the process he revived the community spirit, and endowed the school with confidence and optimism.

Upon retiring in 1992, Simon and Valerie returned to Manhattan. In 1999 he published a book which is the definitive history of Zamorano entitled "El Zamorano, Meeting the Challenge of Tropical America."

A memorial service to celebrate his life is tentatively scheduled for June of 2021 at Zamorano. Please send memorial contributions to The Simon E. Malo Scholarship Fund, Zamorano University, 1701 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006.