Arielle and Kyle Memorial

Kyle Cooper:

 

Kyle Cooper was truly one-of-a-kind. He was a dependable, caring friend who never failed to show his support for those he loved. He was funny, intelligent, and kind. His quick wit and hilarious one-liners always kept people laughing and his smile could light up a room. He loved talking about philosophy and music. Music was Kyle’s passion. Early on, he taught himself how to play the guitar and honed that skill throughout high school and beyond.

He had an ear for music and could understand how all the pieces of a song fit together. Much of his time was spent writing and recording music. Throughout the years, he was involved in many bands and loved playing with fellow musicians who shared his passion. Most found his enthusiasm for music contagious. In addition to music, his other passions were education, hiking, camping and spending time with friends and family, most of all his beloved girlfriend Arielle. He died a true hero protecting what he loved, and they are together forever.

 

 

Pics of Arielle and Kyle Together

 

 

 

 

Arielle Miller:

Arielle June Miller was born Dec. 1st 1990.  She was named after Ariel – an airy spirit from Shakespeare’s play, The Tempest, though the spelling was changed.  She would tell people when they asked if she was named after Disney’s Ariel – the littlest mermaid, Arielle would say, “I’m no stinking mermaid”.  In spite of that, she excelled at swimming underwater and could make noises like a dolphin.
She was passionate about animals and would protect them no matter what.  People would dump them off by the house when she lived on a farm outside of town.  They’d be all scared of people.  They were starving, dehydrated and abused.  They wouldn’t come when her mom called, but as soon as Arielle got off the school bus, she said in her sweetest voice, “Come here”, and the animals would be her friend for life.
She didn’t like school, nor made the best grades and dropped out her Junior year.  She got her GED and started going to CAC taking general classes.  She excelled in Biology and Psychology even reading behavioral books for fun.
Arielle always loved art and photography and made A’s in those classes.  She didn’t always finish what was assigned but the work she turned in was so detailed she still got high grades.  Arielle continued with photography, taking pictures of the vintage clothes her mother sells and did a few photo shoots.  She had an excellent eye for it and made the models feel comfortable and relaxed.
Arielle loved belly dance and started taking classes with her mom and was in Lois’ troupe, and danced duets with her mom when she was 14.  She took workshops with Yasmina, Cari of Anaya Tribal, Carrie Konya, Azita, Helena Vlahoos and others.  She really loved Yasmina, thought she was the most beautiful graceful dancer she knew.  She never took any other dance classes other than that but when she was going to CAC, the dance teacher, Corrianna Lee, from the high school had her come in and help audition other dancers for the Nutcracker’s Arabian dance.  They wanted traditional belly dance that year, and she wrote the choreography and taught it to the trio of girls who were to perform it for the nights.  One girl dropped out the first night so Arielle performed with the other girls.  But on the last night, the other girls were eating backstage, a big no-no, and Arielle performed the final night as a soloist.
Arielle was a picky eater as a child and absolutely refused to even try certain foods.  She loved to cook and helped out at Xmas making candied orange peels, gingerbread men, frosted sugar cutout cookies and fudge.  Arielle started helping her mom make tamales when she was about 9 and continued to do so every year.  Arielle enlisted the help of her fiancé Kyle the past 3 years.  He became an avid roller also.  Arielle excelled at making cheesecakes and would make Kyle and her brother Brett cheesecake for their birthdays.
She went from hating certain foods to trying all the things she thought she wouldn’t like to loving them and preparing them for Kyle.
Kyle Ray Cooper.  The biggest passion of her life.  She dated but never had a boyfriend until she met Kyle.  Her mom introduced her and Kyle at the home of mutual friends John and Joyce Funk.  Her mom told her he’s “the one”.  Arielle had already had plans to move to Colorado with a girlfriend so she continued with the plans.  But unbeknownst to her mom.. for several months, the times she flew back home for a visit to see her mom, was really a visit to see Kyle.  They talked on the phone long distance and would see each other when she was in Arizona.
Arielle moved back home after the theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado where she was employed.  She helped employees get in the “safe” room, but she only told her mom and Kyle that she had done that.  She didn’t want to be known as a hero.
Kyle and Arielle had a rocky couple of years living together at first but worked out any problems they had, and it was smooth sailing after that.  She told her mom, “Mommy, he’s the one”.  They spent every minute together except when Kyle was at work.  She loved cooking for and with him.  One was not usually seen without the other.
While Kyle was at work, Arielle would work with her mother, designing and helping with the making of belly dance costumes for their business Seshat Costumier.  She would also photograph vintage clothes for EreToday Vintage.  She helped her mom vend larger events, Yasmina’s Annual Swapmeet, Phoenix Rising Dance Festival & Amethyst Dance Festival.
On April 29th, 2018 Arielle was at her mom’s working and said that she and Kyle had been having problems with her uncle who lived at her dad’s house where they also stayed while saving money to buy a house.  Her uncle had threatened to kill her, but she told her mom not to worry or say anything about it because he might get worse.  She assured her mom they were looking at houses, and they almost had enough to buy and would be moving very soon into their own place.  Kyle came to pick her up, and she hugged her mom as usual.
Arielle and Kyle had been together for 6 years and were passionately in love with each other.  It showed in their eyes and actions toward each other.
On April 30th, her mom and brother got the news of a shooting incident at her father’s address.  They rushed over to see what was up and who had been shot.  Arielle was murdered by her drug/psychotic uncle, who then shot Kyle, then himself.  Kyle survived two more days before he succumbed to his gunshot wounds.  His voice was one of the 911 calls to the police saying, “My girlfriend has been shot”.
The moment Kyle passed, the sky got dark, there was a roll of thunder, then a flash of lightening, then the sky turned brilliantly light.  Kyle and Arielle are still together forever.  As angels.

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