News
Ross Estavillo has 'dedication to civic duty'
| Dave Brown/Arizona Range News Ross Estavillo, 62, of Willcox, in front of Sacred Heart of Jesus Roman Catholic Church, where he is a founding member of the Knights of Columbus Council 8105. |
By Carol Broeder/Arizona Range News
If one were to look up the definition for the term "unsung hero," no doubt they would find the name of Ross Estavillo.
An unsung hero is a person who does good works, expecting neither praise nor recognition.
And there, in a nutshell, you have a description of this lifelong Willcox resident and tireless volunteer.
But his oldest son, 40-year-old Ross Jr., probably said it best, "My Dad is going to feel very strange being called a hero," he told the Range News.
"My Dad uses that word sparingly and places people like Pope John Paul II, JFK, and Pat Tillman, to name just a few in his hero category," said Ross Jr.
At the same time, he acknowledges that his father "is not the average citizen and that he has a true passion and dedication to civic duty."
What Ross Sr. will tell you is that he worked "37 and a half years" for the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), supervising the construction of roads, prior to his retirement in 2007.
And for a good 20 of those years, Estavillo also coached Little League baseball in Willcox.
He began when Ross Jr. was the age of 12.
Estavillo has nothing but praise for the Willcox Rotary Club, which sponsored his team.
"We had the sharpest uniforms in the league," he said. "They practically handed me a blank check."
"We mostly had winning teams. We had good teams," he told the Range News.
"We won the city tournament and also District 8."
But winning was not uppermost in his mind while he was coaching.
"I just loved it," said Estavillo. "I would still be doing it if I could."
"I just don't feel I can give these kids what they need," said Estavillo, who is currently undergoing treatment for cancer.
"Coaches have to devote at least 20 hours a week for it," he explained.
Estavillo plans to get back into volunteering as soon as his health improves.
He lovingly acknowledges his wife, Margaret, for her unwavering support.
"Margaret's been wonderful to me," he told the Range News.
"She's been my rock through all of this. I couldn't have made it without her."
"Margaret never wanted the title of team mother, but she always was," said Estavillo, remembering when they would have kids at their home "pitching and catching on Saturdays."
A favorite coaching story of his is when the kids used to ask him for Dairy Queen after just a practice - not even a game.
At the time, Ross Jr. had an Irish setter dog named Princess.
"OK," Ross Sr. would say, making sure all the balls were picked up off the field except one.
"But only on one condition - catch Princess and get the ball away from her," said Estavillo, adding with a smile, "They never did."
It also puts a smile on his face "when some guy walks up to me now, and introduces me to his kids saying, 'This used to be my little league coach," he said.
"A lot of these kids still call me coach, even though it's been 25 years," Estavillo told the Range News.
"I've even had a couple of them come back and ask me to get back into it so that I could coach their kids. I would if I could."
In the lapse between coaching for sons Ross and Danny, now 27, Estavillo also coached for "the Ward boys" - Rodney, Trevor and Steven -- "who are all my godsons."
"Ross and my grandfather (Clopton Ward) coached the Rotary," said Willcox Justice of the Peace Trevor Ward.
"Each of them was a heck of a coach," he told the Range News.
"He was always there to lend a helping hand. He always went the extra mile for his teams."
Both men "made our equipment and used their own money for things, such as taking us to Dairy Queen," said Ward, citing the example of making tees out of scrap metal.
When daughter Stephanie came along, Estavillo easily made the transition from coaching Little League to softball.
Stephanie was born in 1990, and her father began coaching her in 1995, until her junior year in high school.
During that time, he started what he believes may have been the first T-ball league in Willcox.
"Oh, I just loved it. Girls are a blast," Estavillo told the Range News. "I would get to the practice and they would have iced tea and cookies ready for me."
As dear to his heart as youth sports is, perhaps even more precious to him are the countless hours he has spent volunteering at Sacred Heart of Jesus Roman Catholic Church in Willcox.
Estavillo is a charter member of the Knights of Columbus Council #8105.
"I started the council in 1982," Estavillo told the Range News. "I was talking with Happy Mondalvo, who was an avid Knight. He had me talk to some other guys who were Knights."
After a "hit and miss" beginning, the council was going strong in the 1980s and 90s, he said.
The Knights' work of which he is most proud is the annual Christmas food box giveaway he started in Willcox.
The council has been distributing food boxes to the needy for about 17 years, adding bicycles to the program about seven years ago.
Out of their own pockets and from donations, the Knights have been able to give food boxes to as many as 30 families, as well as making as many as 20 local children happy by giving them brand new bikes for Christmas.
"Playing Santa Claus was really fun," Estavillo told the Range News.
"There's no describing how incredible that is."
"I've been given enough cookies and milk to last forever," he added, grinning at the memory of it.
Those are fond memories for his middle son Danny, as well.
"Every Christmas, Dad would dress up as Santa Claus and deliver food boxes to the less fortunate," said Danny, adding, "Giving bikes and toys to kids who wouldn't have had a Christmas otherwise."
"He set the precedent for all of us," said the younger Estavillo.
"We were always taught to put those less fortunate first; to engage in our community; and to support the causes we're passionate about," he told the Range News.
"I think he gave me a heart for those who don't have."
Another wonderful memory for the elder Estavillo is the April 2003 benefit dinner and auction that raised more than $11,000 for Adriana Nieto.
When she was 11-years-old, Nieto had been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in December of 2002.
As Grand Knight, Estavillo and Council #8105 sponsored an enchilada dinner one Saturday afternoon in Keiller Park. An auction, called by Willcox auctioneer Bruce Tingle, lasted about three hours that day.
Estavillo and his brother Knights were awed by the results of the dinner and auction.
"This may be a small town with only two stoplights, but the heartbeat of America starts in Willcox," he said at the time.
Lest anyone is under the impression that Estavillo cares only for the youth, think again.
He has also taken care of older people in town for many years; helping them to get their groceries and pay their bills, as well as taking them to the Post Office and on other errands.
"What many people may not see about my Nino is that beneath that tough exterior, down deep he's a softie," Ward told the Range News.
"He's not only my godfather, but he's my mentor. He has always been volunteering for this community."
"My Dad has been part of organization such as Mexican American Non-Profit Organization (M.A.N.P.O.) in the early 70s, as a volunteer bus driver for the Catholic Church, to pick up Willcox youth all over Kansas Settlement and Sunsites to assure they attended Sunday school," said Ross Jr, adding that his father "has donated countless hours to delivering food for the hungry and coordinating fund raising events for seriously ill people in the Willcox community."
"And then there's all the things that were done that nobody really knows about, like introducing children that do not have a male figure in their lives to hunting and fishing," he said.
"The list goes on and on...he does these things because it makes him happy and because it is just what he does. "
An unsung hero is a person who does good works, expecting neither praise nor recognition.
And there, in a nutshell, you have a description of this lifelong Willcox resident and tireless volunteer.
But his oldest son, 40-year-old Ross Jr., probably said it best, "My Dad is going to feel very strange being called a hero," he told the Range News.
"My Dad uses that word sparingly and places people like Pope John Paul II, JFK, and Pat Tillman, to name just a few in his hero category," said Ross Jr.
At the same time, he acknowledges that his father "is not the average citizen and that he has a true passion and dedication to civic duty."
What Ross Sr. will tell you is that he worked "37 and a half years" for the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT), supervising the construction of roads, prior to his retirement in 2007.
And for a good 20 of those years, Estavillo also coached Little League baseball in Willcox.
He began when Ross Jr. was the age of 12.
Estavillo has nothing but praise for the Willcox Rotary Club, which sponsored his team.
"We had the sharpest uniforms in the league," he said. "They practically handed me a blank check."
"We mostly had winning teams. We had good teams," he told the Range News.
"We won the city tournament and also District 8."
But winning was not uppermost in his mind while he was coaching.
"I just loved it," said Estavillo. "I would still be doing it if I could."
"I just don't feel I can give these kids what they need," said Estavillo, who is currently undergoing treatment for cancer.
"Coaches have to devote at least 20 hours a week for it," he explained.
Estavillo plans to get back into volunteering as soon as his health improves.
He lovingly acknowledges his wife, Margaret, for her unwavering support.
"Margaret's been wonderful to me," he told the Range News.
"She's been my rock through all of this. I couldn't have made it without her."
"Margaret never wanted the title of team mother, but she always was," said Estavillo, remembering when they would have kids at their home "pitching and catching on Saturdays."
A favorite coaching story of his is when the kids used to ask him for Dairy Queen after just a practice - not even a game.
At the time, Ross Jr. had an Irish setter dog named Princess.
"OK," Ross Sr. would say, making sure all the balls were picked up off the field except one.
"But only on one condition - catch Princess and get the ball away from her," said Estavillo, adding with a smile, "They never did."
It also puts a smile on his face "when some guy walks up to me now, and introduces me to his kids saying, 'This used to be my little league coach," he said.
"A lot of these kids still call me coach, even though it's been 25 years," Estavillo told the Range News.
"I've even had a couple of them come back and ask me to get back into it so that I could coach their kids. I would if I could."
In the lapse between coaching for sons Ross and Danny, now 27, Estavillo also coached for "the Ward boys" - Rodney, Trevor and Steven -- "who are all my godsons."
"Ross and my grandfather (Clopton Ward) coached the Rotary," said Willcox Justice of the Peace Trevor Ward.
"Each of them was a heck of a coach," he told the Range News.
"He was always there to lend a helping hand. He always went the extra mile for his teams."
Both men "made our equipment and used their own money for things, such as taking us to Dairy Queen," said Ward, citing the example of making tees out of scrap metal.
When daughter Stephanie came along, Estavillo easily made the transition from coaching Little League to softball.
Stephanie was born in 1990, and her father began coaching her in 1995, until her junior year in high school.
During that time, he started what he believes may have been the first T-ball league in Willcox.
"Oh, I just loved it. Girls are a blast," Estavillo told the Range News. "I would get to the practice and they would have iced tea and cookies ready for me."
As dear to his heart as youth sports is, perhaps even more precious to him are the countless hours he has spent volunteering at Sacred Heart of Jesus Roman Catholic Church in Willcox.
Estavillo is a charter member of the Knights of Columbus Council #8105.
"I started the council in 1982," Estavillo told the Range News. "I was talking with Happy Mondalvo, who was an avid Knight. He had me talk to some other guys who were Knights."
After a "hit and miss" beginning, the council was going strong in the 1980s and 90s, he said.
The Knights' work of which he is most proud is the annual Christmas food box giveaway he started in Willcox.
The council has been distributing food boxes to the needy for about 17 years, adding bicycles to the program about seven years ago.
Out of their own pockets and from donations, the Knights have been able to give food boxes to as many as 30 families, as well as making as many as 20 local children happy by giving them brand new bikes for Christmas.
"Playing Santa Claus was really fun," Estavillo told the Range News.
"There's no describing how incredible that is."
"I've been given enough cookies and milk to last forever," he added, grinning at the memory of it.
Those are fond memories for his middle son Danny, as well.
"Every Christmas, Dad would dress up as Santa Claus and deliver food boxes to the less fortunate," said Danny, adding, "Giving bikes and toys to kids who wouldn't have had a Christmas otherwise."
"He set the precedent for all of us," said the younger Estavillo.
"We were always taught to put those less fortunate first; to engage in our community; and to support the causes we're passionate about," he told the Range News.
"I think he gave me a heart for those who don't have."
Another wonderful memory for the elder Estavillo is the April 2003 benefit dinner and auction that raised more than $11,000 for Adriana Nieto.
When she was 11-years-old, Nieto had been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in December of 2002.
As Grand Knight, Estavillo and Council #8105 sponsored an enchilada dinner one Saturday afternoon in Keiller Park. An auction, called by Willcox auctioneer Bruce Tingle, lasted about three hours that day.
Estavillo and his brother Knights were awed by the results of the dinner and auction.
"This may be a small town with only two stoplights, but the heartbeat of America starts in Willcox," he said at the time.
Lest anyone is under the impression that Estavillo cares only for the youth, think again.
He has also taken care of older people in town for many years; helping them to get their groceries and pay their bills, as well as taking them to the Post Office and on other errands.
"What many people may not see about my Nino is that beneath that tough exterior, down deep he's a softie," Ward told the Range News.
"He's not only my godfather, but he's my mentor. He has always been volunteering for this community."
"My Dad has been part of organization such as Mexican American Non-Profit Organization (M.A.N.P.O.) in the early 70s, as a volunteer bus driver for the Catholic Church, to pick up Willcox youth all over Kansas Settlement and Sunsites to assure they attended Sunday school," said Ross Jr, adding that his father "has donated countless hours to delivering food for the hungry and coordinating fund raising events for seriously ill people in the Willcox community."
"And then there's all the things that were done that nobody really knows about, like introducing children that do not have a male figure in their lives to hunting and fishing," he said.
"The list goes on and on...he does these things because it makes him happy and because it is just what he does. "
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