We were having lunch in Sag Harbor. On the way home as we walked past Main Street, you just had to see the American Hotel. So you took off up the street. I followed and caught up with you. We approached the hotel and in you went, had yourself a look around, spoke with the manager, and left with a satisfied smile on your face.

A simple story, but so revealing. It sticks in my vividly and i can visualize it clearly.

Miss you so much!

Rosalie

I have a lot of memories of my big brother, like the hour-long conversations over the phone, talking about life, relationships, movies, even pets; singing in the kitchen; dancing in the middle of the street; the willing to teach and show me things (and there was a lot to learn from him!); even the respectfully way to point out that I was making a mistake or that I was simply wrong.

A lot of memories that I will cherish forever… like the very first memory I have as a toddler or the last time I saw him.

The first: myself crawling to the door and staring at a teenager, a pretty muddy Juan Carlos being lectured by dad, after a rainy adventure across the mountain.

One year ago of the last memory and today I celebrate his life. I am grateful for the experiences we share, for the opportunity to be next to this great man that I admire so much, who knows everything and does anything, but at the same time is a little kid that loves toys and ice cream.

This is how I remember my brother: inquisitive, always looking for new ways, open, smart, loving, capable of laughing about anything even himself, and definitely happy.

I like to think that his spirit is out there somewhere, and this phrase come to mind:

       True pilots never die, they just get new wings 

Disculpa que no te habia escrito antes, pero no tenia el valor da hacerlo. Hoy te escribo para desearte Feliz Cumpleanos y para que sepas que todos los dias pienso en ti ya que estaba acostumbrado a que hablaramos por telefono cada vez que queriamos y es dificil no poder hacerlo.

Te quiero mucho mi pana!! 

1986, Caracas Venezuela. JCRZ uno de mis mejores amigos de la Universidad Simon Bolivar, junto al Negro comian mas que 4 personas juntas. Divertido, cariñoso, creativo, ocurrente,curioso y muy inteligente, con una sonrisa permante y una risa inconfundible que expresivo!! Para la època fiesteabamos mucho en su casa y la pasabamos genial. Llego a hacerse tan amigo de mi hermano, menor que yo, que llegue a ponerme celosa.
Tan unico, tan especial tan aventurero, tan èl. l unico que me satisface es que estoy segura que vivio su vida plenamente yme duele saber que sus pryectos no habian terminado, por que JCRZ siempre tenia algo mas en mente.
Dios lo bendiga y lo acoja en su amor pleno.
Juanki, Te quiero mi amor.   

He colored outside the lines while retaining reason and logic, an admirable balance. He blazed his own path, careful to leave anything living intact. He sat behind the controls of a small aircraft; dove in oceans spanning from the Caribbean to the western Pacific, desiring deeply to inhabit as many worlds as possible. Perhaps the world he inhabited most deeply was mine, which became ours. I am who I am today in a profound way because of more than 20 years in his presence, almost daily.

I will falter without him, but hopefully rise to make him proud by resorting to all he has taught me and meant to me. I will continue to appreciate his resourcefulness and preparedness, loyalty and kindness, laughter and humor, and ability to switch from sheer silliness to seriousness. I cannot recall one instance where he willfully emotionally hurt any human being, or physically hurt any other living creature or plant. Not one. No insect met a paper towel death in his hands; each was sent on its way outside a window or door.

He had a fantastic laugh, from the gut, very deep, near devilish, and to prompt it was a pleasure. He gave incredible hugs - strong, heartfelt, comforting. Once you experienced one, you looked forward to another.
  
There was often a method to his madness, as they say. Any questions early on in what seemed like a futile exercise were met with, "Be patient" or he would not reply at all and continue with his endeavor, knowing the end result would likely be positive, without the need to profess it. No boasting, no name in lights. Humility. 

He was a voracious reader, careful not to cast aside anything because it might contain a useful piece of information or insight. He was inclusive, introspective, and intelligent.

In the face of his diagnosis, Juan Carlos always believed he could be the one for whom the terminal illness became a chronic illness. His optimism and bravery continually astounded me.

One of his doctors told me that she could not imagine a world without Juan Carlos. Now I will imagine the world with him.

He was my dream maker AND dream fulfiller. How much luckier could I have been. I had his trust, respect, and deep love, and he, mine. We could share our deepest, darkest thoughts and know they were safe. I met my soul mate who took me on the adventure of a lifetime.