Our Dad, Juan Perez, will forever live on in our hearts. He passed on Monday, August 28, 2017 after a long battle with synovial sarcoma, a rare tissue cancer. Our Dad, a loving husband, father of ten children, grandfather of twelve, brother, musician, teacher, friend, man of faith, giver of time and talent, has touched the lives of so many people.

Saint Therese of Lisieux said "Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love." Our Dad truly exemplified this belief every day of his life. In daily routine, he spoke to us of love and charity to others. When we first moved to Washington in 1989, our parents struggled to find a home for our large family. Despite our difficulties, they opened our home to the homeless. Strangers have often spoke of the memories of seeing our Dad pass peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to the hungry, giving Holy Communion to the elderly, and other acts of kindness, despite being so busy. And none of us will ever forget his smile...

Some favorite childhood memories we have with our Dad include playing basketball and soccer, running, summer trips to the mountains, hearing his stories, and of course, singing our hearts out around the piano. He exemplified the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony with his devoted love for our Mom through their 42 years of marriage. We remember the way prayer permeated his life and sustained him throughout the rhythm of the day. Every morning he could be found kneeling in the dark living room praying the Rosary before his morning run. He led us in prayer on the drive to school, before every meal, at all family gatherings, and read the Bible to us every night as children. Dad nurtured our faith and prioritized a Catholic education at Holy Rosary and Bellarmine and we are so thankful for his sacrifice.

When we learned of our Dad's cancer in 2014, time became our most precious commodity. Our strength was our faith, and we grew even closer as a family, gathering nearly every week to cherish our Dad. We took several family trips, armed with his wheelchair, strollers, and lots of car seats for the grandchildren, we piled into vans and visited the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Denali National Park, Whistler, and Banff, Canada. Our parents were blessed with a pilgrimage to Lourdes, France with the Knights of Malta where they encountered the overwhelming love and comfort of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Thanks to the outpouring of prayer, we were blessed to have our Dad for three amazing years after his diagnosis. It gave us a chance to make more memories, but most importantly to share with him our love and thankfulness for the faith that enriched our lives. He never lost sight that God had a greater plan for him and he gave himself over to the Lord. Our Dad had many moments of suffering but he could still see the beauty of life in spite of his pain.

"Our suffering is our mission. We saw how Jesus offered His suffering. If I continue my faith in God, it is a testament, in spite of my suffering and weakness." -Juan Perez.

We will miss you, Dad and we thank you for the beautiful witness of your life, the faith you instilled, the music that delighted us all, and the memories that will live on in our hearts.





This article was published in the Tacoma News Tribune on Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Juan Perez, who played the piano for decades at the Tacoma Mall Nordstrom before taking his tunes to other local venues, died Monday afternoon at his home in University Place. The Piano Man was 68. Perez succumbed from synovial sarcoma, a rare soft tissue cancer. "His battle was a roller coaster," daughter Christine McKanna said Tuesday. "He was given just a couple of weeks to live in January."

But soon, McKanna said, her father improved to the point where he could return to playing the piano at El Gaucho Tacoma and the Space Needle in Seattle. He played piano at Nordstrom for 27 years before being laid off in 2013 when the store decided to take a more modern approach and play recorded music. On his last Sunday in the store, Perez played "Piano Man" and "How Great Thou Art."

Perez worried that he'd never play the piano professionally again, but that was a short-lived concern. Within weeks, he was hired to perform at El Gaucho steakhouse (his dream), the Space Needle, the Tacoma Yacht Club, Tacoma Golf & Country Club, Bellevue Square, the Bellevue Hyatt Regency, the Old Cannery in Sumner and the Weatherly Inn and Narrows Glen retirement homes in Tacoma.

He continued playing even after his second bout with cancer. "Playing the piano is like therapy to me," Perez told The News Tribune in 2015. "I forget that I am sick. When I play, I give my heart to the music. I offer it to God. Before I play, I practice for one hour at home. I ask the Lord what songs to play. I feel I'm trying to give a little hope if people are having a bad time. I think that is my duty, to entertain people."

A nine-hour open heart surgery in 2015 kept him from the piano for eight days, the longest he'd ever been away from music. Perez played "Unforgettable" as soon as he was well enough. Most pianists read music from sheets during their performances, but Perez played from memory. He said he learned more than 700 songs by ear.

People were drawn to Perez for his music, his warm smile, his kindness and strength. They often approached him to talk about the time he smiled at them over the Baldwin baby grand when they were young, or how they used to bring their elderly mother to listen to him play. "I'm just happy to be an inspiration," he told The News Tribune in 2014. "Even though I'm not the best piano player." Perez began playing piano at age 7 in Manila, but he hated practicing so he took up the marimba as well.

He played at military bases, won a national TV talent competition at age 11 and was entertaining soldiers aboard a C-130 in Vietnam when he was 19. Then a manager at a Guam Hilton convinced him to perform at the hotel. Perez insisted he wasn't a pianist, but he practiced for the audition eight hours a day for two weeks and blew them away.

Perez and his family immigrated to the United States from Guam and settled in Seattle in 1985. They soon moved to Tacoma, and Perez auditioned with Nordstrom in January 1986. He wore a regular shirt and was intimidated by the four women also auditioning because they were so elegantly dressed. By the time he returned home, Nordstrom had already called and offered him the job. Erik Nordstrom, one of the store's co-presidents, once called Perez "a fixture and a legend." Joe Vego, general manager at El Gaucho, referred to him as an "inspiring guy" who was "great at picking music that people can connect with. He always finds a way to convey that emotion."

McKanna believes her father's last public performance was July 22 at the Space Needle. "It was so important for him to share his music," McKanna said. By then the cancer had taken its toll. "A few days before he died he called all his kids and said he wanted to see them," McKanna said. "We dropped all our jobs and spent the day gathered around his bed, laughing and enjoying."

She said her father didn't suffer. "He went peacefully," she said. After his death Monday, one of Perez's sons played guitar while his family gathered around. "We sang all his favorite Beatles songs, and his favorite church songs," McKanna said. "It was a great way to release emotions in a way I think he would have appreciated."

Perez is survived by his wife, Susan, 10 children and 12 grandchildren.