Obituaries

OBITUARIES January 2021 In memory of...

This list is compiled from the records of both Lamont Mortuary and Bulman Miles Funeral Home for deaths in Globe and Miami. Obituaries have been edited for the purposes of this publication. To place an obituary or life story in the paper please contact editor@ globemiamitimes. (LM: Lamont Mortuary, BF: Bulman Miles Funeral Home)

FRANCES GONZALES, May 13, 1939 - December 31, 2020, age 81, of Globe, passed away at her home. She was the former owner of Fran’s Flowers. (LM)

EVERETTE ALLEN, July 10, 1956 - December 30, 2020, age 64, of San Carlos, passed away at Valley Wise Medical Center in Phoenix. (LM)

GLENN CLARK, March 20, 1974 - December 30, 2020, age 47, of San Carlos, passed away at John C. Lincoln Memorial Hospital in Phoenix. (LM)

OLGA R. GILMORE, May 26, 1955 - December 30, 2020, age 65, of Globe, passed away at her home. (LM)

MARIANNA GOSEYUN, September 9, 1945 - December 30, 2020, age 75, of San Carlos, passed away at A-C Assisted Living in Globe. (LM)

ADELLA SWIFT, July 3, 1927 - December 20, 2020, age 93, of Peridot, passed away at her residence in Peridot. (LM)

BILLIE J. BAREFOOT SR., October 20, 1934 - December 29, 2020, age 86, of Globe, passed away. He worked at Inspiration Consolidated Copper Company for 30 years and split his time between Apache Junction and Valley Spring, Texas. (LM)

ESPERANZA OROPEZA, August 14, 1930 - December 28, 2020, age 90, of Miami, passed away. (BF)

SHARON FISH, November 28, 1960 - December 29, 2020, age 60, of San Carlos, passed away at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center. (LM)

RICHARD BILLY JR., January 21, 1966 - December 28, 2020, age 54, of San Carlos, passed away at Abrazo Scottsdale Campus. (LM)

CHRISTINA COOK, 1936 - December 26, 2020, age 84, of San Carlos, passed away at HonorHealth Osborn in Scottsdale. (LM)

MARIO T. “Coach” OLIVAREZ, October 7, 1951 - December 26, 2020, age 69, passed away at his home after a battle with cancer. He coached baseball for the Globe Tigers Baseball team and coached Babe Ruth and Pinal Mountain Little League teams, earning his nickname. (BF)

GLORIA THRASHER, January 3, 1938 - December 26, 2020, age 82, of Wheatfields, passed away. She was a member of the first graduating class of San Manuel High School. (BF)

EUGENE DUNCAN, September 1942 - December 26, 2020, age 78, of San Carlos, passed away. Eugene served on the Tribal council and was a board member for the San Carlos School District and a board member of the Peridot Economic District. (LM)

DARLENE HALES, December 11, 1954 - December 25, 2020, age 66, of Globe, passed away at Hospice of the Valley in Scottsdale. She worked for Wal-Mart. (LM)

TINA GARCIA, July 15, 1972 - December 22, 2020, age 48, of Claypool, passed away at her residence. (LM)

FREIDA HAWTHORNE, February 2, 1938 - December 22, 2020, age 82, of San Carlos, passed away. (LAG)

NATHANIEL JORDAN LYON, August 28, 1996 - December 22, 2020, age 24, of Miami, passed away. He attended school in Miami and Globe and was working towards a nursing degree in Thatcher. (LM) ISABEL “BELLE” RAMOS, March 10, 1934 - December 18, 2020, age 86, of Globe, passed away at Sobre Valley Regional Medical Center. (LM)

BISHOP FERNANDO PECHULI, SR., April 10, 1945 - December 18, 2020, age 75, of San Carlos, passed away at Valley Wise Medical Center in Phoenix. (LM)

RANDALL “Randy” LEE BECK, May 10, 1959 - December 17, 2020, age 61, of Miami, passed away in Globe. He worked as an underground miner and in the smelter, and as a butcher at Southwest Supermarket and a volunteer firefighter and EMT for Tri City Fire. (BF)

TROY GOODMAN, September 7, 1976 - December 17, 2020, age 44, of Globe, passed away. (LM)

CHRISTOPHER LEE HEATH SR., June 18, 1979 - December 17, 2020, age 47, of Globe, passed away. (BF)

TERRY PEARSON, March 25, 1955 - December 17, 2020, age 65, of Miami, passed away at Mi Casa Nursing Center in Mesa. (LM)

LEATRICE PHILLIP-MARTIN, August 18, 1979 - December 17, 2020, age 41, of San Carlos, passed away at the Valley Wise Medical Center in Phoenix. (LM)

AFONSO DWIGHT STANLEY, June 11, 1986 - December 16, 2020, age 34, of Glendale, passed away at Banner Desert Medical Center in Mesa. He worked as an installer for solar panels. (LM)

HOWARD ANDERSON SR., September 27, 1938 - December 14, 2020, age 82, of San Carlos, passed away at Banner Baywood Medical Center in Mesa. (LM)

SANDRA BELVADO, April 12, 1943 - December 14, 2020, age 77, of San Carlos, passed away at Cobre Valley Regional Medical Center. (LM)

NOLA RICE, January 2, 1931 - December 12, 2020, age 89, of Globe, passed away. She traveled the world on QE2, raised cattle on two ranches with her husband and transported horses cross country before selling the ranch and moving to Globe. (BF)

INFANT FAITH N. SWIFT-HILL, December 13, 2020 - December 13, 2020, stillborn daughter of Kami Swift and Fabian Hill, passed away at Banner Desert Medical Center in Mesa. (LM)

MARTHA BURLINE CRITES, April 13, 1933 - December 12, 2020, age 87, former Globe resident, passed away in Phoenix. (LM)

DANIEL HERNANDEZ JR., November 6, 1982 - December 12, 2020, age 38, of Globe, passed away in Wheatfields. He was employed at Freeport McMoRan as a welder. (LM)

TONY MARVIN STAFFORD, April 25, 1958 - December 12, 2020, age 62, of Miami, passed away at Cobre Valley Regional Medical Center. He was the pastor for Miami Church of Christ and had been preaching since he was 16. (LM)

JOE E. DOOLEY, June 23, 1967 - December 11, 2020, age 53, of Miami, passed away at his mother’s home. (LM)

JOSEPH “Butch” R. AGUILAR, November 10, 1941 - December 11, 2020, age 79, of Miami, passed away at Cobre Valley Medical Center. He worked for over 30 years as a pipe fitter at the mines. (BF)

GERALD IRVING, April 19, 1971 - December 11, 2020, age 49, of San Carlos, passed away at Banner Baywood Medical Center in Mesa. (LM)

SETH KING, August 17, 2007 - December 11, 2020, age 15, of San Carlos, passed away at San Carlos Apache Healthcare in Peridot. He was attending San Carlos Junior High, where he enjoyed singing in school plays. (LM) GLORIA MARTINEZ ROMERO, May 25, 1959 - December 11, 2020, age 61, passed away at Banner Baywood Medical Center in Mesa. (LM)

SANFORD DALE CASSA, November 13, 1947 - December 10, 2020, age 73, of San Carlos, passed away at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix. He served as the postmaster in San Carlos for 35 years. (LM)

IRENE AGUILAR GERARDO, 1951 - December 10, 2020, age 69, of Miami, passed away at home. She worked at Freeport McMoRan and ran her own pizzeria in Globe, among other jobs. (LM)

JUSTIN TODD HAMLET, January 2, 1988 - December 10, 2020, age 32, of Globe, passed away. (LM)

DAMIAN J. LOPEZ, March 15, 1969 - December 10, 2020, age 51, of Globe, passed away in Phoenix. His 24-year career included firefighter/EMT at Tri-City Fire Department, firefighter/paramedic at Globe Fire Department and medic and instructor with Cobre Valley Regional Medical Center and San Carlos Apache Healthcare. (LM)

ANTHONY MODLESS, October 15, 1972 - December 10, 2020, age 48, of San Carlos, passed away. (LM)

VODELL HAAN SR., December 15, 1947 - December 9, 2020, age 73, of San Carlos, passed away. (LM)

JUANITA JOHNSON, September 1, 1956 - December 6, 2020, age 64, of Peridot, passed away at Banner Baywood Medical Center in Mesa. She worked for the Tribal Prosecutor, Tribal Cattle Association, Parade Committee, Election Committee, School Board and Miss San Carlos Pageant and Rodeo Committee. (LM)

THOMAS CASSADORE, September 27, 1967 - December 5, 2020, age 53, of San Carlos, passed away at Banner Boswell Medical Center in Sun City. (LM)

RONALD CHESLEY, May 1945 - December 5, 2020, age 75, of Globe, passed away at Heritage Healthcare Center in Globe. (LM)

ALICE F. “Pudy” QUARLES, June 3, 1940 - December 4, 2020, age 80, of Globe, passed away. (BF)

DONNA ANDERSON, March 6, 1933 - December 4, 2020, age 87, of Globe, passed away at Heritage Healthcare Center in Globe. Donna worked for the Arizona Record and Arizona Silver Belt and founded the Copper Country News with her husband Guy in 1984. (LM)

DANIEL COLYOTT, July 14, 1951 - December 4, 2020, age 69, of Globe, passed away at Cobre Valley Regional Medical Center. (LM)

RUSSELL ARNOLD KENTON SR., July 23, 1947 - December 2, 2020, age 73, of Peridot, passed away at Banner Baywood Medical Center in Mesa. He worked as a machinist for the mines. (LM)

ROBERT WALTERS, November 6, 1946 - December 2, 2020, age 74, of San Carlos, passed away at Honor Health Scottsdale Shea. (LM)

MELVIN DOUGLAS GILLOCK, March 14, 1942 - December 1, 2020, age 78, of Globe, passed away. He worked for Magma in Superior and San Manuel and at a uranium mine in New Mexico. (BF)

STEPHEN CASSA, August 17, 1973 - December 1, 2020, age 47, of San Carlos, passed away at HonorHealth Scottsdale Shea. (LM)

JESUS HORTA, March 2, 1930 - December 1, 2020, age 90, passed away at the Arizona State Veterans Home in Tucson. (LM)

WILLIAM HOWARD HOWES, September 3, 1943 - December 1, 2020, age 77, of Globe, passed away at his home. He was an electrical engineer by training, owned Cobre Valley Snacks and worked in the computer industry. (LM)

A Growing Business, Continued from page 1

Mike has been in business for 46 years and in 2020 Golden Hills Nursery & Feed had its best sales year ever. From February through December 2020, monthly sales exceeded the prior year, surpassing 2019 annual sales by the end of June. Mike was “swamped” by customers looking for goods associated with landscaping their yards – fruit trees and shrubs, vegetables and flowers.

“Roses,” he says, “I sold a lot of roses this year.”

“If you study things too much you’ll never do anything,” Mike says as he surveys the hilltop business.

Mike opened Golden Hills Nursery in 1974 with the help of his mother, Ann Shirley, a retired schoolteacher and avid gardener. He had no prior retail experience. They began by selling plants on the front porch of Ann’s home on Golden Hill Road; the cash register was in the kitchen. Two years later they moved up the hill to the current location. The first years were the hardest, Mike recalls.

“I knew absolutely nothing, but we did it” he says, “just because we loved plants.“

In 1984, Mike and his sons built a greenhouse and ten years later added poultry and feed to his business. He credits the development of the Crestline area, in the valley behind Fry’s, for spurring the economy for 10-15 years and helping his business gain traction. When the housing boom subsided things slowed down.

“I stuck with it doggedly,” Mike says. “Fortunately my wife has had a job at the mines all that time so income level’s been steady.”

Over the years together, he and his wife Linda raised three kids, all collegeeducated with kids of their own. Over

Sarah Bernstein stands in front of her 8ft hollyhocks purchased from Mike. Courtesy Photo.

four decades in business, they’ve acquired a wealth of literature on plants and horticulture.

“There is still a lot to learn,” says Mike. “Plants are endless.”

Today the cash register is behind plexi-glass. Mike will be 80 years old in February. He’s cut out his feed business, the big bags at least, but still sells poultry. He sold a lot of baby turkeys this year.

“This year people were doing a little panic buying,” he says, “kind of in a frenzy.”

Prior to the pandemic, nationwide, retail gardening sales were projected to grow at over 4.5% per year based on growing health consciousness and concern for self-sufficiency in regards to food production. However in the spring of 2020, as the reality of shutdowns and stay-at-home orders set in, retail sales surged 8.6% higher than the previous year, according to a study of U.S. Census Monthly Retail Trade Report data.

On a sunny afternoon in December Mike looks around at his dwindling

Shirley says this year has been one of his best, as covid has prompted people to spend more time outdoors and in the garden.

Mike Shirley opened Golden Hills Nursery in 1974 with the help of his mother, Ann Shirley, a retired schoolteacher and avid gardener. Neither had prior retail experience at the time. Photo by LCGross

inventory and lush winter garden and reflects upon how a global pandemic led to record sales for his small business. He attributes some of the uptick to safety concerns -- people who want to stay out of big stores during the pandemic and are now shopping locally for their landscaping needs.

The nursery business, he says, is a bit of a bellwether. Prior to the pandemic, Mike noticed a trend toward families “flying all over god’s creation,” on expensive vacations. Now people are staying closer to home. He harkens back to his boyhood in Miami and a time when going on vacation meant getting outdoors. People had lots of picnics. It was a good time, he says, but stops short of projecting past or current trends into the future.

“I can’t say about next year... might be a dud,” Mike says, “It’s just the way it is in business.” u