Juan Ibarra-Rivera Jr. - Online Memorial Website

On behalf of Juanito's family I would like to thank everyone for coming and celebrating my brother's life, special thanks to Father Green who is simply the best for his kindness and accomidating us in this lovely church.

Thankyou to everyone for the hundreds of texts, emails and phone calls of support. Thanks to all those that stopped by the house and dropped off food and wishes.

When I was around 5, Juanch and I were at the playground, and Juan climbed up on top of the monkey bars and jumped off, Being a monkey see monkey do, I followed suit and fractured my foot, we lived about 1/2 mile away and

, Juanch put his arm around me and walked me home, he decided the best course of action was to take, a shortcut through some backyards,where we had to run away from some wild dogs, probably chihuahuas, but at the time they seemed like pitbulls. After that adventure I knew then I had a big brother who would take care of me.


A card we received from a neighbor of the shop, Sarah, best describes my brother. She wrote that her favorite memory of Juan was walking out of her house at 7:30 am to find Juan and one of his guys secretly fixing the damage of her car. She said "i will never forget that act of self-less kindness"

That is the kind of man my brother was.

Another good description of Juan that was posted on a site, comes from a long time friend Mike shield." We will be celebrating your life today. We spent our youth together and through this we helped define each others character and personality. I owe part of who I am today to you. It has been a long time since I have thought about those great times that shaped us. I will spend my time now celebrating your life and how much those shared moments meant to me.


"there were many phases in juanito's life
He was a cub scout, a student,chef, caterer, a manager, a leader, a mentor, a jeweler, chain male engineer, candle maker, mechanic, a gardner, an outdoorsmen, a hunter, a friend, a brother, a son, a husband and a dad.

from st. brigid,from tunneling in our back yard, the sherman middle school yard where we'd play strikeout, from allen park where Juan would amaze us with his homemade bottlerocket glove, to mud football at the greens, round table pizza after basketball games, santa benecia, to SI,to summers in tahoe, to funston, to drinking at the little greens, the walnut fight in the living room, Baker Beach, Mcnears' beach, and the palace of fine arts, coit tower, mike shield's house, the Ibarra brothers and friends were always together. Sharing in laughs, friends and an occational drink.

When Juan was 21 all three bros would go to Pierce Street Annex, with myself and Ricky, who was 14, all using the same ID. We moved up to the Union street Ale house and eventually nestled into the infamous Bus Stop where we shared many great times with many people here today and where a photo of him will hang.



During all these phases he touched many people. Wether as a roommate, manager, mentor, teacher, banker, coworker
People loved to work for and be with Juan, he would always get the job done and take care of his people. He worked at The Family Club(where he employed many of us),the Menlo Country club, The Bohemian club, Events Etc(where he met and fell in love with Teri), Bi-Rite and The Shop.

1800 Green st was where we all grew up, It turned into Casa Juan Home for Unwed men. Many a soul here today once took residence with Juan where they truly experienced his selfless kindness and every episode of battlestar gallactica. Many more others shared in numerous informal gatherings and celebrations.



for those of you that didn't know my brother;

he's the guy you would ask to help you move, He'd show up with a truck, a crew of his guys, ,pack, rap, and organize and then tie everything down with the proper knot

He's the guy that when watching a movie would enjoy figuring out the ending and sharing it with you, before it ended

He was loved by sushi chefs across town, because of his knowlegde and sophisticated pallat

If he was a dwarf, he'd be Grumpy

if he could travel time he would either go midevil and be a knight or become a ninja samurai type

if he was a football team, he'd be whoever the raiders were playing. He was not much of a sports guy but would look up info on the raiders and the titans just to talk smack to me and my cousin. Out of the blue he would say something like wow the raiders really took a beating yesterday huh? So obviously he had the upper hand for quite some time on that topic

If he'd work at disneyland, He'd be a Knight, with chain male(that he made), a big sword, an axe, a bow and arrow, a big knife and maybe a glock. He'd ride up on a big black stallion and great all the kids


If he went to the house of prime rib, he would order the King Henry the Eight cut, very rare, still walking

There is a quote

"It is not death that a man should fear,
But he should fear never beginning to live." -Marcus Aurelius

While his life may have been too short, My brother did live, he touched so many lives.
we May have lost a big brother, but we gained a big angel.

Juan's giving continues even after his passing. He was a donor who helped countless others

Everyone here today is a testament to a life well lived and the greatness of a great man.

Jean Francois Tomas- You were our neighbor and had a great influence on Juanito, You and my dad were the mentor’s mentor, he cared for you deeply, Thank you. Merci

carmen- When Juanito was 2 U came here from Guatemala to help our family, U have been an incridible and valuable blessing to our family for over 40 yrs. Juanito loved u very much. Gracias.

narda, sami and nadra, you all have been great friends to Juanito. He too loved you very much. Gracias


tim, mi hermano, you have been a member of our family since the 4th grade. You have always been there for Juanch. And U will always be our brother. Thank You for taking care of our brother.

fumi and AL- You welcomed Juan into your family and made him your son. He loved and cared for you and your family deeply. Thank you

moma y papa-You raised a sick little boy into a kind self-less man. Who was loved by so many and who touched so many. He was a son, a brother, a husband, a father, an uncle, and a true friend. U should be extremely proud, Gracias

teri-U are the love of his life, U meant everything to him, you settled him, he wanted to give you the world. Thankyou for filling him with Joy and giving him his greatest jewel, izzy. His last thoughts and words were his love for you. Thank you

izzy- you are his heart, his princess, his angel. He will forever be with u and watching over u.We love you.

I can see Juanch working in God's garden(organic of course) preparing a great feast for his friends when they come to meet him


Juanch, relax, know that our kids will play together and that your friends and family will look over teri and Izzy

I will use you to teach my boys about what it is to be brothers

Juanch, we love you

Juanito was truly a great man.

He had a very unique sense of humor. He used to say that the reason his marriage was so successful is that he made all of the important decisions like what tie to wear or what to eat for dinner and Teri made all the small decisions like where to live, what car to buy, and where Izzie should go to school.

The two best things that ever happened to him came seven years ago when he became “Teri-fied” and four years ago when his little angel Izzie came into the world.

When they got married, Juanito thought that he was marrying into a Japanese family and Teri thought she was marrying a Latino man. Little did they know, as they often joked, that Juanito is actually Japanese and Teri is white.

Juanito has passed his love for Japanese culture and food onto Izzie. Whenever we’d go to a sushi restaurant she’d get her own plate of raw Hamachi, while he and I got some sort of weird raw fish, and Teri looked at us like we were crazy and ate something cooked.

Juan and I had a plan for Izzie. When she went to her first dance with a boy and when she got her first boyfriend he and I would give the new guy a warm welcome to the family. I’d be holding the shotgun and he’d have all of his rifles and pistols laid out on the table while he cleaned them.

I’ve known him for as long as I can remember. He was like a second father to me, even if he somehow managed to drop me twice when I was a baby. Whenever I got into trouble or I got into an argument with my mom, by the end of the day I would have received a phone call where Juan would always be checking on me, asking what happened, and giving me advice on how to get passed the issue. He is also the reason that I probably haven’t gone crazy from what he called “estrogen poisoning”.

We were passionate about many of the same things. As soon as one of us would finish a book we’d pass it on to the other, we watched many of the same TV shows, and we both crashed a ton of cars. The only difference was that I crashed on the Xbox and he crashed real cars. Unfortunately, according to Teri, his taste in clothes, especially ties, was not the same as mine.

 I’m also one of probably fifty Tennessee Titans fans in the bay area so every time the Titans would screw up and lose a game I’d get a call from Juanito where he’d lovingly give me a hard time. But thankfully I’m not a Raider fan like Lou so I didn’t get very many of those phone calls.

He has helped shape the man that I am today. He taught me how to shoot, garden, and probably most importantly, eat strange yet delicious foods. I did things with him that I probably would have never done with anybody else – From eating Sea Urchin for the first time to eating McDonalds with Takwan, the stinkiest Japanese pickle you’ll ever come across, to eating my first raw Oyster at the age of six. He was always prepared and ready to fix anything. It seems like all he ever needed to fix something was his brain, his pocket knife, and his mini flashlight that he always had on him. He was truly a great role model, friend, and mentor.

He had a passion for gardening, being a loving husband and father, and foreign cuisine that I have never seen anybody else get close to matching. I have never met anybody who knew Juanito and didn’t absolutely love him. He was the kind of person that you wanted to know and have as a friend. If you were in need, he would drop what he was doing and come to your aid right away no matter what your situation was. Those who he loved were among the luckiest people ever.

I’ve always looked forward to the comments he’d have about things I’ve done. Things like breaking my ankle and what seems like every other bone in my body to my Jr. Prom. I was especially looking forward to hearing what witty remarks he’d have for my senior ball and my graduation.

The last time I saw him was at the end of March, he told me that he couldn’t have loved me more if I had been his son and that he couldn’t be more proud of me.

He always had the biggest and best tomatoes, lemons, squash, zucchini, and artichokes. For those of you who were ever lucky enough to get some of his Godzilla sized vegetables, you know that they were almost as big and good as his heart. His love was never ending and it touched everybody he met.

All I can hope to do now is pass the lessons he taught to me on to his wonderful daughter and keep his amazing spirit alive in my heart.

He is, was, and always will be a great influence on the lives of so many people.