Juan Pablo (JP) Spoerer

JP was born in Santiago, Chile to Alberto Spoerer Covarrubias (Father) and María Angélica Grez Matte (Mother). He studied at St. George’s College in Santiago, followed by Civil Engineering at the University of Chile. From there, he traveled to the US to receive his Master’s Degree in Industrial Engineering at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, where he met his beloved wife, Renée Forrestal. A true love story, JP and Renée exchanged letters following his eventual return to Chile until she decided to travel across the world to visit him, ultimately marrying in 1989 in Santiago. There they had three children, Roberto, Nicolas, and Thomas, before returning to Atlanta in 2000.

In Atlanta, JP started at Arauco, a Chilean company specializing in wood products, later founding his own moldings mill in Manning, South Carolina, leading the opening of an additional mill in Los Ángeles, Chile, and most recently working at CMPC, another Chilean wood/forestry company.

Over the years, JP, most frequently described by his family as a true “gozador de la vida” (“enjoyer of life”), was able to make the most of his passions including cooking/food, using his engineering-centered mind to fix and invent (featuring an elevator to help his wife bring grocery bags up to the kitchen from the driveway), and spending quality time with his family.

JP is survived by his wife and three sons, his mother, three brothers, and extensive family of cousins, nieces, and nephews in Chile.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00pm on Saturday, April 6th, 2024 at H.M. Patterson & Son-Oglethorpe Hill Chapel.

Memorials may be given to JP’s wife, Renée.

Finally, the family of JP wishes to extend our sincerest thanks to the Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) Unit at Northside Hospital of Atlanta, which through their treatment and care granted him an extension of his life following his difficult Leukemia diagnosis beyond what otherwise would have been possible to spend with his beloved family before his passing.