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Very dear friends of Juan Stam,
It is with great regret that we inform you of his death on Friday, October 16 at 10:20 at night. His parkinson's advanced to the final phase, and his body gradually collapsed. He rested in peace surrounded by his family in Costa Rica, while we prayed and sang "How Great Thou Art", "Our Father", "Thanks to life" ... We still have a hard time assimilating this reality.
Several years ago when my dad was still in better health, he commissioned me to send this statement to the people he loved so much when the time came. The time has come, and how hard it was to write this message! I think it's a kind of denial. As if the act of writing it made it a reality. We knew it was going to happen sooner or later, but how difficult it is to really be prepared.
Don Juan had a great capacity to be present in the "here and now" of every circumstance experienced. When my parents arrived in Costa Rica just married in 1954, they gave themselves fully to their new reality and their culture. When they were assigned the pastorate in the northern part of the country, they fully identified with the peasants and immigrants, with the most vulnerable and needy. When he found out about suffering or marginalized groups, Daddy was present with them in his solidarity and concrete help. If he studied a passage, he engaged fully in the double contextuality of the text (original and current) to ensure a healthy exegesis. If he gave a course, or a sermon, he gave himself completely to the message and to the listeners, according to the locality and its needs. When he traveled, he made new friends and came back fulfilled and grateful for the people he had met and how much they had taught him. With visits or theological gatherings, he was fully involved in the conversation. He was interested in people. He loved people. He enjoyed that very rich life in communion with others.
Even in his death, my dad was still "present." Many years ago he and my mom made the decision to donate their bodies to a medical school, rather than being buried or cremated. The university has an agreement to collect the body with a funeral home that "by chance" belongs to a great friend of my parents. The two boys who came for him had come to numerous Bible studies with my dad. That sweet goodbye with his friends also gave us comfort and peace. One of them commented: "Oh Don Juan, even in death he gave himself fully to others!" To God be the glory.
My dad lived a long and productive life. He said he had had "a full and exciting life." When he was approaching 90 and Parkinson's began to limit him, one day he told me, a little disappointed, that he had hoped to have a healthy and productive old age. He did not realize that he was already living that old age for a long time! Then he rather thought of all the good things he was experiencing, despite his age and illness, and asked me to help him write "Desserts at the End of a Long Life" (Enjoy it!) Daddy was still present, and grateful.
The messages of comfort we have received are comforting. There are recurring themes in his comments: the big smile, his incredible sense of humor, his kindness, humility, erudition, simplicity, ability to explain complicated things in an understandable way, generosity, detachment, studious, friendship, testimony, consistent, lived what he preached, prophet, defender of justice, man of God, legacy, human warmth, love and respect towards the boys and girls ... His words remind us that Daddy was also present with all of you, with his friends, with others.
There are projects that he and I could not finish, such as an article on ecumenism with a small letter (as opposed to Ecumenism with a capital letter), a small didactic scheme and materials to teach the apocalypse, the third volume of "Doing theology in Latin America", and an autobiography of Juan Stam that we were writing together. Those tasks are left to me now, and I promised to finish them. I will be sharing them with you in due course. Juancito will continue to be present for many more years - both in the projects under way, as well as in the many books and articles that are already available to everyone.
Don Juan firmly believed in the resurrection of his Lord Jesus Christ, in the second coming of Jesus and in the resurrection of the dead. There, too, Juan Stam will be present, by God's divine grace. We are comforted by that certainty of my dad's presence in the resurrection of the dead, with a new body and without pain. It is a cause for rejoicing, and a reason for the precious peace we feel.
As a family we are extremely grateful for the life of Juan Stam, and we say goodbye with solidarity and present love, wishing each of you all the best for your own life, your family, and your community.
"A hug",
Rebeca (by Juan, and the whole Stam family)
This letter translated by Omar Gonzalez using Google Translator.
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