Juan Lizarraga Memorial and Funeral Expense Fund
Donation protected
My family found out last week that our papá Juan Alberto Lizárraga Gutierrez had passed away alone in his rental home in Chimbote, Peru. Juan had always been so healthy and strong, so his loss was very sudden and unexpected. His death is believed to be from heart failure, but it is unknown if Covid-19 or something else played a role or not. The coroners were unable to do an autopsy. My family had been trying to get ahold of my dad with no response for over a week, with increasing alarm. The difficulties of coordinating from abroad with strangers, his landlord, as well as law enforcement to break into his home have been traumatizing for our family. My dad’s keys, phone, and wallet are all missing. There are so many distressing things about this situation that have all been made worse due to the Covid-19 pandemic going on. My family in the US and Chile have been unable to travel to Peru to help my father and bury him because of the borders being closed. Our family in Lima haven’t been able to travel to Chimbote either because transportation within the country is currently illegal. We have been dependent on the kindness of his landlord, strangers, and the help our family in Lima has been able to provide from afar as well.
The body of our father is being held in a temporary mausoleum in Chimbote, but his wishes were to be buried in a cemetery in Lima next to his brother, our Tio Daníel. Chimbote and Lima are about 6 hours apart. Our siblings and I intend to use this memorial fund for our father’s funeral expenses which includes moving his body from Chimbote to Lima.
We are also forced to continue paying our father’s rent for an unknown amount of time until our family is able to travel to Peru to gather his belongings and family sentimental treasures. Money raised here would also help us pay his rent until we are able to travel when the pandemic restrictions have been lifted. The amount we have listed is only an estimate of what we might need to help our family afford this cost during this difficult time.
As soon as the borders of Peru reopen and it is safe to travel, my family and I will be able to give Juan a proper funeral and gather with our family there to mourn and share stories of his beautiful life.
Juan never got to finish college, but he highly valued education and it was very important to him. Any money from this memorial fund that is beyond what our family ends up needing to honor and bury Juan will go directly to help fund education for Indigenous children in Peru. Juan had a longterm dream of starting a school to help children have the tools and knowledge to succeed in their lives. My siblings and I will be doing research to find the best people and organizations to donate to in Peru, if we are able to raise enough funds to surpass our goal.
Juan Alberto Lizárraga Gutierrez ~ June 28th, 1951 - April 13th, 2020
Juan was born in Lima, Peru. His birth father abandoned him and his mamá Dora when Juan was born. Juan had many special memories of being raised by his abuela Julía for the first 4 years of his life, before his mamá Dora and her husband (his stepfather) were able to take him into their household. He grew up in poverty with his 4 half siblings and endured many hardships as a child. Juan had an adventurous and curious spirit and loved to go fishing and spend time by the ocean, he was a great swimmer. Juan was also very adept at building things, and he loved gardening and plants. He planted an avocado tree from a pit at his family’s house in Lima and he was so proud when he later learned it grew into a giant tree that produced many avocados. Juan would always find ways throughout his life to have a garden, teeming with every kind of vegetable, he especially loved growing tomato plants. In his teens until the beginning of his early 20s he worked in a textile factory with his mamá Dora. Juan was a great sewer and tailor and would continue to alter his own clothes throughout his life. Juan was also an artist, in his younger years he worked in ceramics, and would continue to draw throughout his life. He was very proud of being Peruvian and of his Indigenous heritage from both sides of his family. Despite his love for Peru, when my dad was 23 in 1974 he dreamed of moving to the United States. He chose to immigrate to Seattle, Washington. When he arrived in the US, he spoke no English, but immediately started learning. He found work in Seattle as a machinist, but was being taken advantage of by his boss because of Juan’s English skills lacking, but luckily he was able to figure out he was being cheated. Other Peruvian and Latino friends recommended to him a place in Seattle that was friendlier to immigrants seeking work, the shipyards. Juan found work as a welder and ship fitter. He helped build many of the ferry boats in Seattle as well as many Navy boats. He faced a lot of discrimination and racism when he first moved to Seattle, as well as at work. His fight against racial discrimination in his workplace continued throughout his time there, he was very active in his union speaking out against racism. His work was hard manual labor and could be very dangerous. He knew many friends who died on the job. He eventually rose to the position of quality control and helped make sure boats were being built safely and up to code. He continued to work this job until he was able to retire at 65. In between those years he met and fell in love with Linda Erickson, and together they had a family with 3 kids, Briana, Asenath, and Daniel. Juan also had attended some college at South Seattle Community College and at the University of Washington. He dreamed of being an architect, but was unable to finish because of needing to make money for his family. Linda was unable to work because of care taking for her widowed mother who was very ill for many years as well as raising 3 kids. Juan also cared very much for Linda's mother, and would help with chores around her house, Juan greatly respected and valued assisting elders. Juan loved his family very much and worked hard to provide for them. His sister and her family lived in Seattle as well and he loved them very much. He also loved his family in Peru very much, and had dreams of retiring in Peru eventually and to be reunited with his loved ones there. Over time, he and Linda divorced, and Juan was able to reevaluate his life and his priorities. Juan was always a great cook, but he got deeper into Peruvian cooking and remembering recipes from his youth. Juan also had a deep emotional connection with music which was able to flourish again, he especially loved salsa music. He took up salsa dancing and became an incredible dancer. He would go every weekend to the Century Ballroom in Seattle to dance. After Juan retired, he wanted to start planning his retirement in Peru, which took some time. He spent all the money he had started accruing from retirement on moving belongings down to Peru and beginning to look for property to buy. In the meantime he rented a house in Chimbote, and imagined going between there and the US until he had bought his land in the countryside.
Juan was just beginning to live out the dream he had imagined for so many years. It is devastating and feels so unfair that he was unable to do all the things he wanted to do. His honest hard work for so many years didn’t get to have the full payoff he deserved. However it is a blessing he was able to go back to Peru, he was able to reunite with loved ones there, and now his spirit will forever be there in his homeland. He wanted to bring his family to Peru to see his new life he was seeking to build there. He wanted to find land in the countryside to have an orchard and farm. He wanted a german shepherd puppy and a reliable truck. He wanted to build a school and help poor children seek an education. He chose Chimbote so he could be close to the ocean and go fishing, but he wanted to be able to travel to Lima to see his cousins and to see his sister and her family in Chile. He wanted to have his orchard and farm close to Chimbote. He loved his family so much, and he was so loved by his family, he will be forever missed and cherished.
The body of our father is being held in a temporary mausoleum in Chimbote, but his wishes were to be buried in a cemetery in Lima next to his brother, our Tio Daníel. Chimbote and Lima are about 6 hours apart. Our siblings and I intend to use this memorial fund for our father’s funeral expenses which includes moving his body from Chimbote to Lima.
We are also forced to continue paying our father’s rent for an unknown amount of time until our family is able to travel to Peru to gather his belongings and family sentimental treasures. Money raised here would also help us pay his rent until we are able to travel when the pandemic restrictions have been lifted. The amount we have listed is only an estimate of what we might need to help our family afford this cost during this difficult time.
As soon as the borders of Peru reopen and it is safe to travel, my family and I will be able to give Juan a proper funeral and gather with our family there to mourn and share stories of his beautiful life.
Juan never got to finish college, but he highly valued education and it was very important to him. Any money from this memorial fund that is beyond what our family ends up needing to honor and bury Juan will go directly to help fund education for Indigenous children in Peru. Juan had a longterm dream of starting a school to help children have the tools and knowledge to succeed in their lives. My siblings and I will be doing research to find the best people and organizations to donate to in Peru, if we are able to raise enough funds to surpass our goal.
Juan Alberto Lizárraga Gutierrez ~ June 28th, 1951 - April 13th, 2020
Juan was born in Lima, Peru. His birth father abandoned him and his mamá Dora when Juan was born. Juan had many special memories of being raised by his abuela Julía for the first 4 years of his life, before his mamá Dora and her husband (his stepfather) were able to take him into their household. He grew up in poverty with his 4 half siblings and endured many hardships as a child. Juan had an adventurous and curious spirit and loved to go fishing and spend time by the ocean, he was a great swimmer. Juan was also very adept at building things, and he loved gardening and plants. He planted an avocado tree from a pit at his family’s house in Lima and he was so proud when he later learned it grew into a giant tree that produced many avocados. Juan would always find ways throughout his life to have a garden, teeming with every kind of vegetable, he especially loved growing tomato plants. In his teens until the beginning of his early 20s he worked in a textile factory with his mamá Dora. Juan was a great sewer and tailor and would continue to alter his own clothes throughout his life. Juan was also an artist, in his younger years he worked in ceramics, and would continue to draw throughout his life. He was very proud of being Peruvian and of his Indigenous heritage from both sides of his family. Despite his love for Peru, when my dad was 23 in 1974 he dreamed of moving to the United States. He chose to immigrate to Seattle, Washington. When he arrived in the US, he spoke no English, but immediately started learning. He found work in Seattle as a machinist, but was being taken advantage of by his boss because of Juan’s English skills lacking, but luckily he was able to figure out he was being cheated. Other Peruvian and Latino friends recommended to him a place in Seattle that was friendlier to immigrants seeking work, the shipyards. Juan found work as a welder and ship fitter. He helped build many of the ferry boats in Seattle as well as many Navy boats. He faced a lot of discrimination and racism when he first moved to Seattle, as well as at work. His fight against racial discrimination in his workplace continued throughout his time there, he was very active in his union speaking out against racism. His work was hard manual labor and could be very dangerous. He knew many friends who died on the job. He eventually rose to the position of quality control and helped make sure boats were being built safely and up to code. He continued to work this job until he was able to retire at 65. In between those years he met and fell in love with Linda Erickson, and together they had a family with 3 kids, Briana, Asenath, and Daniel. Juan also had attended some college at South Seattle Community College and at the University of Washington. He dreamed of being an architect, but was unable to finish because of needing to make money for his family. Linda was unable to work because of care taking for her widowed mother who was very ill for many years as well as raising 3 kids. Juan also cared very much for Linda's mother, and would help with chores around her house, Juan greatly respected and valued assisting elders. Juan loved his family very much and worked hard to provide for them. His sister and her family lived in Seattle as well and he loved them very much. He also loved his family in Peru very much, and had dreams of retiring in Peru eventually and to be reunited with his loved ones there. Over time, he and Linda divorced, and Juan was able to reevaluate his life and his priorities. Juan was always a great cook, but he got deeper into Peruvian cooking and remembering recipes from his youth. Juan also had a deep emotional connection with music which was able to flourish again, he especially loved salsa music. He took up salsa dancing and became an incredible dancer. He would go every weekend to the Century Ballroom in Seattle to dance. After Juan retired, he wanted to start planning his retirement in Peru, which took some time. He spent all the money he had started accruing from retirement on moving belongings down to Peru and beginning to look for property to buy. In the meantime he rented a house in Chimbote, and imagined going between there and the US until he had bought his land in the countryside.
Juan was just beginning to live out the dream he had imagined for so many years. It is devastating and feels so unfair that he was unable to do all the things he wanted to do. His honest hard work for so many years didn’t get to have the full payoff he deserved. However it is a blessing he was able to go back to Peru, he was able to reunite with loved ones there, and now his spirit will forever be there in his homeland. He wanted to bring his family to Peru to see his new life he was seeking to build there. He wanted to find land in the countryside to have an orchard and farm. He wanted a german shepherd puppy and a reliable truck. He wanted to build a school and help poor children seek an education. He chose Chimbote so he could be close to the ocean and go fishing, but he wanted to be able to travel to Lima to see his cousins and to see his sister and her family in Chile. He wanted to have his orchard and farm close to Chimbote. He loved his family so much, and he was so loved by his family, he will be forever missed and cherished.
Organizer
Briana Lizarraga
Organizer
Emeryville, CA