Beth Ann Willoughby

Beth Ann (Pokhias) Willoughby, aged 40 years young, of Mesa, Arizona, passed away on July 19, 2024. Born on April 9, 1984, in Glendale, Arizona, Beth grew up loved and cherished and graduated from Skyline High School, later attending Maricopa County Community College and Long Technical College.

Her early years were spent as a Navy brat, living in PA, AZ, TX, MO and CA. Beth, her siblings and mom (who collectively she referred to as the Power of 4 – a never-ending source of strength and support) came home to Arizona when she was 9 years old. She lived in Phoenix with her adoring uncles Joe and Brendan before moving to Mesa. That move was fortuitous as it led to her meeting and working with Nathan, who would become her life partner and husband. Prior to the birth of their children, she worked as a Medical Assistant at an urgent care facility. Beth's vibrancy, sense of humor and loyalty to her friends led to long lasting friendships with people too numerous to list. She had recently accepted a job and was excited to go back to work.

A devoted mother and wife, Beth dedicated her life to her family, hosting gatherings and holidays and creating a warm, cozy home filled with fall colors and Halloween decorations that went up on the 5th of July and stayed up until Thanksgiving. She loved her dogs, Tank, Tilly, and Teddy, and forever missed her best boy Duke. Beth had a love of crafts, a skill she honed from her grandmother, Betty, who taught her to knit. She also enjoyed filling her backyard oasis with colorful pottery and plants topping off the magical patio with an assortment of lights and decorations. Beth believed Disneyland WAS the happiest place on earth and loved vacations there with her children. Her second happiest place was the Mogollon Rim/White Mountains of AZ where campfires and watching the monsoons burning through the sky were the highlights. Beth was a huge Hello Kitty fan, loved NASCAR, kept her home filled with music, loved cooking with Nathan using her Le Creuset pieces and having a nice purse on her arm, as evidenced by her recently gifted Prada bag. She desperately wanted, one day, to visit Paris.

Nothing was more important to Beth than her children. They were her life, her passion and her source of joy and fulfillment. No one was more capable of loving and cherishing them than her. She nurtured and surrounded them with her fierce protectiveness, instilling empathy and compassion through which they should see the world, fostering them to be the best unapologetic versions of themselves while knowing she would always be their soft place to land. Her and Nathan's bond and family were sacred, and they looked forward to growing old together, watching their children continue to thrive and flourish for years to come.

Beth is survived by her husband and best friend Nathan; her children, Rylee, Colton, Parker, and Alexa; her mom and step-dad Joyce and Darren; her estranged father Michael; her sister Amy; her brother Jared and his wife Josefine; her uncles Joe, Brendan and Steve; her mother-in-law Gloria; her grandmother Elsie, and was preceded in death by her father-in-law, Bill; her maternal grandparents, Roy and Betty; and her paternal grandfather, William.

Private family viewing to be held on Saturday, July 27th from 2:00 to 2:30PM followed by the family accepting friends from 2:30 to 4:00PM at Mariposa Gardens, 400 S. Power Road, Mesa, AZ 85206. The family requests that in lieu of flowers a donation be made to the Arizona Humane Society (https://www.azhumane.org/memorial-and-tribute-gifts/). Please also consider donating blood by contacting your local blood donation center (in the Phoenix metro area, https://donors.vitalant.org/).