Juan Americo Miranda

Juan was born in San Ramon in the Chanchamayo Valley in Peru. His family called him "Americo." Juan's family was of Chinese heritage, had much land in the regions surrounding the town. At a young age, Juan would help his family's Chinese restaurant doing dishes and even helped cooking. His mother eventually sent him to a Catholic high school in a town called Tarma located in the Andes mountains. Juan continued through primary and secondary school there. Later his family move to Lima, Peru for better work opportunity and he attended his final year in a public school in the big city.

After he finished school, Juan worked at his uncle's paint shop in Lima, Peru. But his dream was to move to the United States and to go to a university.

Juan arrived in the U.S. in 1971 and stayed in Miami for a few months before he moved to Seattle and attended the University of Washington. He found it challenging to study in English at first so he transferred to Shoreline Community College because it cost less for a foreign student and he took classes to learn English. At Shoreline he earned his bachelor's degree in Human Resources. Then he earned the master's degree in Urban Planning at the University of Washington.

Juan got married in 1979 to Anita Leanna Jurgens. Their son Paul Mariano Miranda was born in Oct 19 1980. And Juan received his American citizenship in the early 1980s.

After finishing the schools, he took many job positions in human resources around the Seattle area. Juan also discovered his passion for teaching and became a part-time Spanish instructor at North Seattle Community College in the continuing education program for almost three decades. Later he did freelance work teaching teachers and police officers Spanish to improve their communication skills in their communities.

In his personal life Juan enjoyed going on walks and bicycle rides, watching a lot of soccer, playing soccer, and watching movies with his son Paul. He also loved to travel and went on trips to Venezuela, Australia, and Europe. Juan Americo also traveled to Peru as much as he could to see his family.

In October of 2016 Juan Americo was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer. He underwent two surgeries, radiation treatments, and chemotherapy and fought bravely for over 6 years. On February 11th, 2023, Juan Americo Miranda passed away.

Juan Americo Miranda is preceded by his mother Angelica and his two brothers Pepe and Mario. He is survived by his son Paul Mariano Miranda.