Francisco "Pancho" Alfredo Villa

Francisco “Pancho” Alfredo Villa, 81, passed away peacefully in his home surrounded by family on February 20th.  Pancho was born in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico on January 7th, 1939 to Alfredo and Margarita Villa.  He was married to Beverly Ann Villa for 43 years.

Pancho enlisted in the U.S. Army on May 15th, 1957 to become an infantryman.  Stationed in Germany during the Cold War he guarded the border between West and East Germany.  After completing his service in the army, he began his 44 year civilian career.  In 1981 he became a naturalized U.S. citizen.  During this span of time, Pancho established himself as a talented woodworker and carpenter who built the family’s home in Vail.  In addition to building the custom cabinetry for his home, he also built furniture for his church, St. Rita in the Desert, and furniture for family and friends.  He retired from the City of Tucson Streets Department as their tool room manager in 2001.

In his retirement Pancho enjoyed the unlimited time to spend with grandkids, travel, and his favorite hobby, woodworking.  He loved having family and friends over for barbecues and parties.  In his mind the more people he could feed and entertain, the better time he had. 

Pancho is survived by his loving wife, Beverly Ann Villa; sons, Fernando (Lorena) Villa of Rio Rico, AZ; Damian (Shelby) Thornton of Whetstone, AZ, and Francisco (Joann) Villa of Yuma, AZ; sisters, Maria Sara Centeno of Rio Rico, AZ, Gloria Del Castillo and Yolanda Rodriguez of Amado, AZ.  He is also survived by many grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and many many dear friends.

He is preceded in death by his parents and sisters, Alicia Dicochea and Carmen Rios. 

Services will be held Friday, February 28th, 2020 at St. Rita in the Desert, 13260 E. Colossal Cave Rd., Vail, AZ 86641 at 10:00am.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation (alzinfo.org).

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