Juan Martin del Campo
In loving Memory
from
Sherry West
One of the things I’ll always remember about Juan is something he used to say…He used to tell me and Mike “Everyday is Christmas” and chuckle. The reason he was able to make and believe such a positive statement is because Juan had a unique perspective on life…an enlightened perspective if you will. Juan had looked death in the face and survived. He knew that he had been given an extraordinary gift…the gift of life and a second chance to enjoy it to the fullest. Juan was able to appreciate his life and the people in it, in a way that most of us never can. I don’t think he ever took a single day for granted and his words “Everyday is Christmas” are words to live by. He was a constant reminder to me of how precious each day and each person is and I’m a better person for having known Juan Martin del Campo.
His “joi de vive” (or joy of life as the French say) spilled over onto all of us who knew him. He loved to be surround by friends and family and he loved to eat, drink and be merry with us all. He enjoyed sharing his happiness and good fortune with everyone one of us who is here today. His generosity is legendary and I know many who benefited from it, including my self. The car we drive is from Juan. We enjoyed many memorable meals at Juan’s house that were graciously prepared by him and his family. My house was filled with beautiful flowers from Juan as well countless bottles of good wine, which he knew I loved. If I ever needed moral support he was there. If I ever needed a loan, he was always there for me. If I ever needed a favor he was always there for me…he even took me to the dentist in Ensenada on at least three occasions and loaned me the money to pay for it.
Although I’ve only known Juan for the past five years or so, he will live in my heart forever. His extraordinary kindness, compassion and generosity; his uncanny business savvy; his “anything is possible” and “think big” philosophy; his good humor, his larger-than-life persona, his invincible spirit, his love of his children (and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention his supernatural knowledge of cars and how they ran) are all things I think of whenever I think of Juan. Juan was also a great cook. I’ll never forget the turkey with stuffing he made one Thanksgiving. When Diana and I discovered it in the oven and unwrapped it from the foil, it was so beautiful that all we could do was gasp and drop our jaws in disbelief that he had outdone us both.
Juan loved the good life and worked hard all of his life to be able to provide it and all the nice things for his family that he never had as a child growing up in Tijuana. Juan played many roles in life…. Juan the father and husband, Juan the brother and son, Juan the boss, Juan the business partner, Juan the grower of flowers and Juan the salvager of foreign auto parts. Another role he played in life was Juan the Mayor and Godfather of LaMision. If there was ever any trouble or a problem that couldn’t be handled alone, Juan always came to the rescue…including chasing away burglars in the middle of the night. I will miss his strength, wisdom and the peace of mind that came with knowing that all is well because the king is up on the hill in his castle and just a phone call away if I need him.
In closing, I’ve asked Diana to read this for me, because we are unable to be with you all today but we wanted Juan’s family and friends to know how much his friendship has meant to both Mike and myself and that we are there today in spirit. I find myself thinking why did this have to happen? Why did he have to leave us, but I guess a better question would be why did he live and just be glad that he did. We should all be thankful that we were privileged to know Juan for the period of time that we did. Don’t consider him gone, he’s just been elevated to a higher place, where we will meet him again.