Juan Jose Montoya passed away on October 23, 2019 at his home in Torrance, CA, with his family by his side. Juan is survived by his loving wife of 58 years, Sebastiana ("Gigi") Montoya, his children Edgar, Grace and John (Joanne) and four grandsons, Samuel, Christopher, Ian and Kyle.
Juan was born on August 29, 1927 in Arequipa, Peru. At the age of 20, he moved to Chile where he worked in radio while attending the University of Chile. He studied chemistry, physics and journalism. In 1955, Juan moved to Chicago, Ill. and was reunited with his older brother, Teodosio. There he began working in a warehouse while attending night school to learn English and also attained a certificate in drafting. In 1961 he met his future wife Sebastiana Aranda and married her on October 21st of the same year. Soon after he began work as a draftsman at Skil Corporation. In 1968, Juan moved his family to California where he was employed at Honeywell as a tool design engineer. He eventually became a real estate agent and concentrated his efforts in residential real estate in the Gardena, Torrance and South Bay area. He worked at Spring Realty, Fredricks Realty and ReMax. He would be named top salesman many times over.
Gardening was Juan's passion. He loved to spend hours in his yard cultivating various fruits and vegetables. He also enjoyed barbecuing and did so almost every weekend during the summers. Juan enjoyed classical music and discussing various topics from politics to literature. He also enjoyed watching and talking about soccer. He had a great sense of humor and loved telling jokes. He enjoyed spending time with his family and especially cherished the times he got to spend with his four grandsons.
In his later years, Juan became more reflective about life and accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. He will always be remembered as a very hard worker, a dedicated family man and a provider.
Viewing service and reception will be held at Lighthouse Memorial - Rice Center, 5310 Torrance Blvd., Torrance, CA 90503 on Saturday, November 2, 2019 from 5 - 8 pm.
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