Ava Arpaio

Ava Arpaio passed away Saturday with her devoted husband, Joe, and her beloved children by her side. The long-time Fountain Hills resident died of cancer complications. She was 89.

Ava had a multitude of diverse adventures throughout her joy-filled life, including running her own dance studio where she taught U2 pilot Francis Gary Powers the fox trot, helping her husband, Joe, make drug busts by dancing and dining with informants, and opening one of Scottsdale’s most long-standing travel agencies, Starworld Travel Agency, which she ran with her son, Rocco.

Most recently, she had many times walked the campaign trail alongside the love of her life known to the world as America’s Toughest Sheriff. She owned and managed a number of commercial properties in Scottsdale and Fountain Hills. She helped her daughter, Sherry, set up and run the world’s only Catholic tea room, the Crowning Glory Tea Room in Fountain Hills, where she greeted and charmed guests with her southern hospitality, sparkling green eyes and engaging smile.

The Harrisonburg Virginia native, born Ava Jeraldene Lam, is the last to pass of twelve siblings raised in a small farmhouse with no plumbing but an abundance of laughter and four-part harmonies that sometimes ended up on the local radio show and had listeners demanding more sweet sounds from the Lam sisters.

The Shenandoah Valley girl was the only one of the dozen siblings ever to leave native soil. And this she did for love. Her husband’s work took her to far-off lands, as far off, in fact, as Istanbul and Mexico City, where she raised children and entertained diplomats and dignitaries.

Never short on humility and grace, Ava was as feminine and glamourous as they come, having been a beautician, accomplished cook and seamstress. She filled the home with beauty, warmth and the smell of baking pies, and everyone who entered knew her ears were all theirs, no matter what else might have been going on.

Above all, she was a dream maker. She labored every day of her life to help make each of her loved ones happy and fulfilled.

Though the loss of someone so rare is heart breaking and leaves unfillable holes in the lives of her dear ones, those who were blessed to call her wife, mother and friend are comforted by the thought that she is looking out for each one of them and guiding them from heaven. A love so strong as the kind Ava practiced never ends. All her life, she was a woman of great faith, a baptized Mennonite and Catholic convert, who was blessed to receive last rites from a Catholic priest just before her passing at around 3:30 p.m. March 20 at HonorHealth Scottsdale Shea hospital.

Ava is survived by her husband Joe; son Rocco and his wife Renee; daughter Sherry and her husband Phil; her brother-in-law Michael, and a number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Visitation: Queen of Heaven Catholic Funeral Home, 1562 E Baseline Rd, Mesa, Arizona, Thursday March 25 from 5 to 8 p.m., with Vigil and Rosary at 6 p.m. Space is limited due to COVID restrictions. Live streaming: Ava Jeraldene Arpaio Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information (qohcfh.org)

Funeral Mass: St. Timothy Catholic Church, 1730 W Guadalupe Rd, Mesa, Friday, March 26 at 10 a.m. Limited space due to COVID restrictions. 

Burial: Paradise Memorial Gardens in Scottsdale.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA.org) or St. Timothy Catholic Church: Mark Ava Arpaio’s name in memo field and mail to St. Timothy Catholic Church, 1730 W. Guadalupe Road, Mesa, Arizona 85202 Attn: Finance/Memorial Gifts