Milton & Stella Poole

Milton Ward Poole “Bill”, born October 30, 1932 and his beloved wife, Stella Carrion Casillas, born July 27, 1931 passed away peacefully at home, 36 hours apart. Stella on August 16, 2025 and Bill on August 17, 2025. Bill was born in Money, Mississippi, and Stella in Tanque, near Bowie, Arizona.

After 72 years together and 69 years of marriage, they left this world as they lived it - together side by side. They met in Tucson during Bill’s service years and married July 4, 1956. Together they reared five children - James (Michelle) Poole, Dean (Ruthann) Poole, Harold (Jan) Poole, Sharon (Vern) Poole-Cox, Annette Kelley, David Murillo.

Bill and Stella took great pride in knowing they were responsible for bringing 23 grandchildren and 52 great-grandchildren to this world.

Bill was the second-youngest of ten children born to James Pinkney Poole and Eura Velma Etheridge. He joined the United States Air Force in 1950 and served in the Military Police until 1952 when he was honorably discharged. While in service Bill learned sheet metal fabrication and this trade became a lifelong career after service. He and Stella owned their own heating and cooling business for many years, all while working as a heavy equipment operator /mechanic at Anamax Mining Company for 20 years.

Known for his ingenuity, Bill could build or fix anything. He is known for always having a tape measure on his belt and a pocket protector on his shirt. He delighted in showing his grandchildren and great grandchildren, how the tape measure worked, quick-drawing it like a cowboy to their squeals of surprise. He loved to garden, tinker in his shop, collect firearms, and strike a good bargain at the swap meets. But most of all, he cherished the growing family that he and Stella created together.

Stella, the second of eight children born to Jose Casillas and Nicolasa Carrion, grew up in Bowie and Tucson, Arizona. Gifted with a mischievous smile and a song in her heart, she often played guitar and sang along to her mariachi music, often you would see her dancing when you walked into the house. Stella was a green thumb she could grow anything as evidenced by her beautiful pine trees, shrubs and 4 foot tall iris’s at the front of her home. Stella was also an accurate quick draw with her pistol “Betsy” that she carried on her majority of her life. And lets not forget her love of peacocks, chickens, horses and native American jewelry.

Stella knew no stranger, when she walked into a restaurant she was approached and hugged by wait staff, and patron friends. Late into her life Stella was still walking grandchildren/great grandchildren home from the bus stop.

Together, Bill and Stella were tough, generous, and deeply devoted to one another. They fought hard and loved hard. Their fiery back-and-forth was as much a part of their bond as their loyalty, and together they built a life marked by grit, humor, and deep commitment. They had little tolerance for nonsense, but endless room for those in need. Their home was a place where love and laughter mingled with hard work and strong faith.

Bill and Stella are preceded in death by their parents and siblings: William S. Poole, Lee E. Poole, F. Lamar Poole, Frances R. Weaver, Ava Dee Collins, Walter E. Poole, Audie M. Hill, and Mildred A. Carithers. Lucia Gonzales, Feliciano Jacques, Alvino Casillas, Tomas Casillas, Francisca L. Casillas, and Jennie Casillas; and by two grandchildren, Nathan Poole and Casandrah Poole.

They are survived by their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, as well as Bill’s sister, Martha L. McMinn of Greenwood, Mississippi, and Stella’s siblings, Pedro Casillas of Tucson, Maria Celia Stark of Tucson, and Laislada Brezovski of Tucson and Bobby Casillas, her nephew, whom Stella truly admired.

A joint Celebration of Life will be held at Amado Baptist Church in Amado, Arizona, on Saturday, November 1, 2025, 11:00 AM. Internment at Veterans Memorial will be announced at the Celebration of Life.

Bill and Stella lived and died as one - partners in faith, in work, and in love. Their legacy is written in the generations who follow, and in the countless lives they touched