Paelo Coelho once said that "...life is a constant journey, from birth to death. The landscape changes, the people change, our needs change, but the train keeps moving. Life is the train, not the station." For Morris Eugene Mills, Jr., that train has pulled into the station for the final time. Slow-talking lover of old cars, irrigation, machines of all kinds, and cattle dogs, Gene died at home on March 22, 2023 after losing his battle with lung cancer. A life-long resident of the Tucson area, Gene was born in St. Mary's hospital on August 22, 1944, and graduated from Saint David High School. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War before returning to Tucson to spend his career working as a locomotive engineer for Southern Pacific Railroad. Gene is survived by his sister Jane Mills-Haug; wife, Linda Mills; four grandchildren: son Justin Mills; wife, Angela Mills, and son Hap Mills, and daughters Amanda Blacow and Tiffany Dee; and 13 grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his father, Morris Eugene Mills; mother, Virginia Mills; and brother, Robert Mills. Services for Gene will be held on May 5, 2023 at 10 am at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Cemetery,  15950 N Luckett Rd, Marana, AZ 85653. A reception will be held following the inurnment at El Molinito restaurant, 10180 N Oracle Rd, Oro Valley, Arizona, 85704.

Trains
Over the mountains,
Over the plains, 
Over the rivers,
Here come the trains.

Carrying passengers, 
Carrying mail,
Bringing their precious loads
In without fail.

Thousands of freight cars
All rushing on
Through day and darkness,
Through dusk and dawn.

Over the mountains,
Over the plains,
Over the rivers,
Here come the trains.