Small stature, massive impact

Philippines-born educator made ‘each child feel like they were the only ones there,’ says daughter Rowena, one of many inspired by mother’s life of joyful service

By: Jim Timlick

Socorro Juan may have been small in stature but the longtime educator had a huge impact on the hundreds of young people she worked with during a teaching career that spanned four decades and two continents.

Juan, who was known simply as Cory to her friends, began her teaching career in her native Philippines in 1964 before emigrating to Winnipeg with husband Neme and their two children in July 1974.

Soon after arriving in the city, Juan was hired as an educational assistant by the Winnipeg School Division. At the same time she began studying at the University of Manitoba to obtain her bachelor of education so she could resume her teaching career.

She graduated from the U of M with her teaching degree in 1982 and went on to work as a teacher at Wellington and John M. King schools and later as a vice-principal at Norquay and Lord Roberts schools until she retired in 2002.

Juan died of cancer in February. She was 81.

While she had many interests, there were few things Juan was more passionate about than her work in the classroom, her daughter Rowena recalls. As a youngster, Rowena volunteered with the summer enrichment program at John M. King when her mom was teaching there and was impressed at the connections her mother made with students.

“I remember feeling, ‘Wow, she is so dynamic in the classroom,’” her daughter says.

“She would speak and everybody listened and she was able to make each child feel like they were the only ones there. She made them feel special.”

One of those students was Bridgitte Sims-Mitchell, who had “Mrs. Juan” as her teacher for grades 5 and 6 at John M. King.

Sims-Mitchell had recently moved to Winnipeg from New Brunswick and was struggling to fit in, in both the classroom and her new community. That all changed as soon as she met Juan.

“I really didn’t have the greatest experience in school. It just wasn’t a place where I felt comfortable. I liked to be outside, to be active. She brought that activity into the classroom for me. She connected with me on that level, it wasn’t super serious,” Sims-Mitchell recalls.

“She was such a calming factor for me. She wasn’t super calm (herself), she was a real high energy woman. But she brought out this calmness in us all. That’s how I felt in her presence.”

Despite her early struggles in the classroom, Sims-Mitchell went on to study at the U of M and graduated with a degree in nursing. She says that might never have happened had Juan not entered her life.

“I think she instilled in me the feeling that I could do anything,” she says.

“You know how you tell kids that and it’s not really true sometimes? But with her it was real. She didn’t say you’re going to be a superstar. But she always told me I was going to do good things and she was always happy to see me. She was always just a genuine, unique person without trying.”

That became evident early in Juan’s life.

She was the third oldest of eight children (two boys, six girls) born to Pacifico and Lucia Llacuna and grew up in the municipality of Jones in the southern Isabela region of the Philippines. At the age of eight she went to live with her maternal grandmother and later her paternal grandmother, something her children, Rowena and Arnold, say instilled a sense of independence in their mom.

After briefly considering a career in nursing, Juan decided to become a teacher. It was a decision she never regretted.

“I think Mom always knew that’s where she kind of belonged. She knew that’s what she wanted to do,” Rowena says.

“Mom and Dad were always very religious. Part of that was the philosophy of helping people and especially young people,” adds Arnold, who says he was influenced to become a teacher himself because of the example his mother set. “She really took that to heart.”

There was no one closer to Juan’s heart than her husband, Neme. The pair met while attending college in the Philippines. Neme was in charge of boarding at the school and met Juan while showing her a suite on campus. A friendship developed that was followed by a courtship. The couple was married on Jan. 13, 1966.

Arnold and Rowena recall how hectic the early days of their parents’ marriage was. In addition to working full time as teachers, they also owned and operated a taxi company and ran a corner store.

“It didn’t really hit me until later in life that they actually had two and a half jobs while raising us,” Rowena says, laughing.

“But as long as I’ve know my parents, they were not one to come home, watch TV and do nothing. There was always a meeting after work or something else. They were not stagnant people in the physical or mental aspects of life.”

They weren’t afraid of change, either. In ’74, they along with their two kids left the Philippines to come Winnipeg to join one of Juan’s sisters who had already put down roots in the city. While there was a little sadness about leaving their homeland, Arnold and Rowena say their parents had no reservations about starting a new life in Canada where opportunities to get ahead were more plentiful.

“I remember the day … we left the Philippines,” Rowena says. “My parents looked excited. They didn’t look nervous. They looked like they were excited to experience a new adventure and a new horizon.”

Even though Juan retired from teaching in 2002, her commitment to education continued. Soon after retiring, she ran for school trustee in the Seven Oaks School Division and served in that role from 2008 until 2014. She was also one of the early leaders of the Manitoba Association of Filipino Teachers, which paved the way for future Filipino educators in the province.

As if that wasn’t enough, Juan also managed to find time to be an active member of the Catholic Women’s League, founded Active Living Seven Oaks, served as an ambassador for the Filipino pavilion at Folklorama and spearheaded the establishment of the first-ever Filipino bilingual language program in Canada. Her community involvement earned her several honours including the Mahatma Gandhi Peace Award and the Queen’s Jubilee Medal.

Retirement was an opportunity for Juan and Neme to travel the globe. That included several cruises, a European holiday, several vacations in Hawaii where Neme had family and a pair of trips to their native Philippines.

Of course, there was always time for dancing, one of Juan’s other passions. In fact, she was still dancing until just months before she died in early Feb, after fighting cancer for seven years.

Rowena, who recently retired as an ICU nurse, says she couldn’t help but marvel at how her mom dealt with the disease.

“I said to people, ‘Mom has cancer but she’s not sick.’ She went through 32 rounds of chemo and she thrived between sessions and between cycles. Mom had a good quality of life right up until the very end and that’s the best you can ask for somebody.”

city@freepress.mb.ca