Education wasn't in the cards for Ambrosio Castrillo, but he made sure it was for his wife and three daughters who graduated as educators from the University of Arizona.
His wife, Ysabel, earned her bachelor's and master's in secondary education and worked for Catalina Foothills and Tucson Unified school districts. Daughters Becky Castrillo, Kathy Fitzgerald and Caroline Pinto all retired from TUSD. Son Danny Castrillo climbed the ladder in the plumbing industry and is a regional manager in Phoenix for a national company.
Castrillo's work ethic and love for knowledge also inspired his grandchildren to attain college degrees. He helped them along the way financially and taught them the importance of working hard and achieving dreams.
The retired San Manuel miner toiled for 33 years at the then Magma Copper Co. mine — once the world's largest underground copper mine, extracting more than 700 million tons of sulfide ore.
His job was "full of danger and risk, a sacrifice he knowingly accepted to provide for his family," said grandson Jesus Lespron, 39. Lespron, also an educator, celebrated Castrillo's life Dec. 22 at Abbey Funeral Chapel, 3435 N. First Ave.
Castrillo, who was born May 16, 1931, in Virden, New Mexico and was raised in Duncan, Arizona, died Dec. 15, 2016, after a short illness. The 85-year-old Army veteran received military honors at Holy Hope Cemetery and Mausoleum. Ysabel Castrillo, Ambrosio's wife of 63 years, was presented with the U.S. flag that was draped over his gray coffin.
Family and friends heard about Castrillo's dangerous, backbreaking labor, which included drilling, blasting and handling dynamite and nitroglycerin. He worked more than 3,000 feet underground and used mucking machines to get the ore to the surface.
Among Castrillo's grandchildren who shared stories about the impact he made on their lives were granddaughter Dr. Stephanie Castrillo, 35, a Phoenix neonatologist. She explained that her father, Danny, was a single-parent who worked long hours so "gramps would call me and my younger sister every week to ask what we wanted to eat."
He bought the food on Sunday and he and Ysabel prepared the meals for the week to make sure his granddaughters were fed through high school and college. He enjoyed cooking and wanted the girls to concentrate on their studies.
Danielle Castrillo, 34, a UA graduate majoring in retailing and consumer sciences who now manages a clothing store in Beverly Hills, remembered gramps buying her a blue Ford Escort at the Tucson Convention Center. It was her high school graduation gift so she would have transportation to the university.
"I didn't know how to drive a stick shift," Danielle recalled frantically telling her gramps. "He always had confidence in me, and talked me through it. I got up to 50 mph on I-10 and I just remember gramps yelling: 'Don't stop Danielle. Whatever you do, don't stop.'" The two made it home and the car stayed parked until Danielle learned to drive without grinding gears.
Granddaughter Jessica Faber, 30, who received a soccer scholarship at Pima Community College and now owns a Tucson crossfit gym with her husband, remembered how gramps always was comparing his muscles to hers. She also treasured his patience with her toddler son who took apart pieces on a stereo cassette player. "Gramps eyes got really big, and then he said: 'Oh, that's OK. Just put it together before grandma gets home.'"
Grandson Nicholas Duran, 29, a UA graduate who majored in dance and performed with a Chicago dance theatre company and also in Tokyo with Cirque du Soleil, is now a fitness trainer in Los Angeles. "When I was 5, my mom and grandma would jog in the park near our home, and gramps would stay with me and show me the Big Dipper. My grandfather was a dreamer and he helped others achieve their dreams and goals. He taught us that anything was possible with hard work."
And so it was for Ambrosio Castrillo. In his youth, he worked fertile fields of fruits and vegetables along the Gila River valley near the New Mexico border. He was the nephew of Leonarda "Nala" Bejarano Duarte of the book "Mama's Santos: An Arizona Life" that was first published in the Arizona Daily Star in 2000.
In 1947, Castrillo was among many Hispanic youth who quit school to help their families pay the bills and put food on the table. He completed his sophomore year at Duncan High School, and then labored in the fields before working for a power line company. He then worked as a truck driver and eventually was hired by Apache Powder Co. where he made explosives before being drafted into the Army during the Korean War. When he was discharged, he returned to making explosives before being hired at the San Manuel mine.
Ambrosio Castrillo gave his all to his family, and gained their deep love and respect.
In saying farewell to her gramps, Faber thought of Winnie the Pooh: "If there ever comes a day when we can't be together, keep me in your heart, I'll stay there forever."
