Juanita Merren Parrilla

Juanita Merren Parrilla was born on the picturesque isle of Guanaja, Honduras on January 18, 1910. She was the youngest of five children of Richard Alfred and Elisha Merren. Guanaja has the distinction of being the birth-place of Adventism in Inter-America since the first SDA church in the region was established there in 1891. Guanaja is also unique in that its earliest settlers chose to build their homes over and around two small cays away from mosquitoes and sand flies. The "streets" in Guanaja are actually wharves and residents could jump from their back door into the ocean for a refreshing swim. Children learned to swim almost before they could walk. This makes it easy to understand Juanita's lifelong love of the ocean and the outdoors. Juanita was destined to be a teacher. Even before she went to study education at Academia Hispano America, the SDA college in Tres Rios, Costa Rica, she started teaching in Guanaja. At the conclusion of her studies, Juanita accepted a call to teach in the SDA school in Bluefields, Nicaragua. This decision changed the course of her life, because it was in Bluefields that she met and married Sullivan Parrilla. The couple established their home in Puerto Cabezas. And it is in the coastal town, where she taught for 37 years that she left footprints on the sands of time. Juanita started a small school in Puerto Cabezas where she was the sole teacher for all the elementary grades (kindergarten through sixth grade). She was known as a strict, but caring teacher. For most students, one look was sufficient. However, for those who crossed the line, her left hand was famous. As a former student recalled recently, she "would pray over me and then spank me". Juanita was known to tutor children in her home until 9:00 o'clock at night. If a student could not afford uniforms or shoes, she would quietly get the needed items. When some parents could not afford tuition, Juanita paid their children's tuition without telling anyone. Sullivan and Juanita motivated the church family to erect a school building next to the local SDA church, This project became a reality in 1954 when Juanita moved into the new school building. As the school grew, other teachers were hired and Juanita became the principal, while continuing to teach 5th and 6th grades. The school continued to grow under her leadership until with 500 students, it was one of the largest elementary schools in the Inter-American Division. In 1974 the Nicaraguan government recognized Juanita's contributions to the country and awarded her the "medalla de honor" (medallion of honor). She was also named 'teacher of the year' for the country. This school later became the first of SDA high school in Nicaragua. Students seeking a Christian education came from different parts of the country. This soon presented a problem as it was a day school and there were no boarding facilities. Sullivan and Juanita solved the problem by opening their home to students wishing to attend school. As more and more students came needing a place to live, Sullivan built a two-story house next to his home to accommodate the male students, while the girls continued to live at the Parrilla home. Everyone came together at their home for worship and meals. Juanita was a gracious hostess and a good cook. In the early 1970s, Southern Missionary College (now known as Southern Adventist University) started a student missionary program among the Miskito Indians in Francia Sirpe, an Indian village. These students quickly discovered that a hot meal would be waiting for them whenever they came into town. In fact, at the 2010 General Conference Session in Atlanta, some of those students missionaries presented 'Mama Parrilla' a plaque of appreciation for her warmth during their stay in Nicaragua. Juanita was touched. "I did not think they would remember me after all these years," she said. In 1979 Juanita and Sullivan's stable home life was shattered by the Sandinista revolution. They fled their country as refugees and moved to Loma Linda. Losing everything and starting in a new culture and country was a destabilizing experience. The Loma Linda Victoria SDA church provided Juanita and Sullivan a spiritual home and the opportunity to become actively involved. Juanita served as one of the Sabbath School superintendents for many years. Juanita attended every General Conference Session after coming to this country. And just months before her latest illness, at 100 years and 5 months, she insisted on attending the last General Conference session. For ten days she enjoyed those grand meetings of believers. In retirement, Juanita enjoyed traveling. She visited Canada, Scotland, England, France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Belgium, Holland, Italy, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines. She especially enjoyed revisiting the land of her forebears, the Cayman Islands, and, with her daughters, was planning to visit the Cayman Islands next month. Juanita leaves to cherish her memory and celebrate her life , three daughters, Jewell, Lenoa and Verle; a son-in-law, Hedrick Edwards; a daughter/niece, Rosemary Haylock; and honorary daughter, Hope Mckenzie; grandchildren, Sherry and Neal, a grand-daughter-in-law, Heather; a soon-to-arrive great-grandson she was looking forward to welcome; nieces, nephews; grandnieces and grandnephews; cousins, and a host of students and caring friends.