loved ones will miss him dearly.
Juan was born in Mexico City, Mexico, and grew up there with his father, mother, and sister. He grew up in the hills of Mexico City with a passion for soccer, music, tradition, and health. Juan attended Escuela Preparatoria de la Ciudad de Mexico, where he completed his elementary through undergraduate education, receiving a bachelor’s of science in both Biology and Chemistry. At the age of 17, Juan made the difficult decision to move to the United States to establish his residence prior to the expiration of his dual citizenship status as a Mexican and United States citizen. Juan left for the United States bound for San Antonio, Texas, with $100.00 in his pocket and an address for the Oblate Seminary to live with a monk known only through the connection of his church in Mexico City. Fortunately, Juan had a mother that taught English, and with this knowledge and his fearless passion, Juan arrived in San Antonio, Texas, and took a job as an orderly at a hospital downtown beginning his long and tenured career in the medical industry. After establishing his residency and receiving his citizenship documentation, Juan returned to Mexico City to attend Medical School at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. After four years of study and success in school, Juan with only a few hours left to complete his degree, moved back to San Antonio, Texas seeking an opportunity to change his surroundings for the better.
In San Antonio, Juan took courses at Trinity University, studied at the seminary with the Oblate Monks, and provided translation services for a Spanish news station, Spanish Universal Network nowadays known as Telemundo, whereby happenstance (because he always wore a suit to work and would dress for the job he wanted) he became the lead anchor for the network when the scheduled anchor failed to show. After a few years, Juan, always driven to achieve more, decided to move to Houston, Texas, to pursue a job in the medical field. Throughout his life, one of Juan’s greatest passions was sports, specifically soccer. In Houston, he continued to pursue this passion and eventually found his greatest passion and love of his life, his wife, Diana, while scouting for female players on his co-ed team. As he told it, “I saw this girl from across the field score an incredible header” and from that moment he was hooked, and yes, he got the girl.
Juan’s professional career continued with work at Spring Shadows Glen as a counselor for troubled teens and youth and taking night classes to complete his Masters in Business Administration at Our Lady of the Lake University, where his two young boys got to watch him walk the stage. After the purchase of Spring Shadows Glen by Memorial Hermann Juan’s 35-year career began. Juan moved up the ranks from tech to counselor to program manager to quality care administrator, eventually retiring as the Vice President of Quality and Patient Safety for the entire system. Juan was a pioneer in much of what he did in his professional life, telling hard truths when facing complex and difficult problems while backing it up with his data, results, and tireless commitment to finish the job done the right way, even if it was hard. Juan won national awards in Washington D.C., was a natural leader, gifted orator, and inspired many of his employees, co-workers, and colleagues to always strive for excellence.
Even after retirement, Juan’s passion to improve the quality of medical care continued when he created his own consulting company High Reliability Healthcare Solutions, LLC. He worked with many hospital systems to improve the quality of healthcare in Texas, South Carolina, and Florida and had just secured a new contract with Harris Health System only days before his passing.
Juan is survived by his wife, Diana, and his two sons Nathan and Adam Inurria. Juan always encouraged his sons to play sports, in particular, soccer. As a moralist, Juan encouraged his sons to join the Boy Scouts of America to pursue the achievements of and learn the lessons of hard work and service. As a father, Juan dedicated his life to ensuring his sons would be ready to handle the world on their own. A tough mentor with a caring hand who set achievable but difficult goals teaching them valuable lessons, namely not letting them get their drivers’ licenses until they achieved the rank of Eagle. Juan is also survived by his sister, Maribel Inurria, and his nephew and niece Juan Rincon-Inurria and Maribel Rincon-Inurria. As a brother, Juan continuously looked out for and took care of his sister, cooking meals, helping with school, and around the house. As an Uncle he provided guidance and support.
Although he left us too early, Juan left his mark on all of us with the way he lived his life, leading by example and challenging everyone he engaged to become a better person. He will be missed every day, but our memories of him and how he impacted our lives will carry his spirit onward.
Memorial service for Juan will be Sunday, December 8, 2019 at 3:00 pm in The Hunters Creek Chapel at Earthman Funeral Directors, 8303 Katy Freeway, Houston, Texas 77024 with a reception following immediately after in the Event Room.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Alzheimer’s Association at https://act.alz.org/site/Donation2?df_id=32112&32112.donation=form1
DONATIONS
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18