Juan Pascoe Strozzi

Juan Pascoe had a long and amazing life of service and dedication to Quaker values in both Friends organizations and internationally. He was the son of the first Mexican-born bishop of the Methodist Church of Mexico. Juan’s school years were spent both in Mexico and the United States. He met his wife Dorothy Pierce in Springfield, Massachusetts when he was a student at a Methodist college. They were married later in the chapel at George Williams College on March 17, 1945, where Juan was involved in service work at Hull House and a student at the University. The union became a close-knit family which included five children.

After Juan’s graduation from George Williams College in Chicago, they moved to Mexico City, where Juan worked at the YWCA for five years. During that time he met Ed Duckles and Walt Raitt, who introduced him to Quakers. He was invited to take a job in the U.S. with AFSC’s Southwest Regional Office as a field worker with the Tohono O’odham Nation, then known as the Papago.

Juan and Dorothy arrived in Arizona in 1952, and Juan began working with a Tohono O’odham self-help program first in Tucson and later on indigenous lands near Sells. His work with the Tohono O’odham resulted in several firsts for the tribe—the first all-Tohono O’odham credit union, first newspaper for the nation, a Tohono O’odham basket business originally managed by Dorothy and later by Elizabeth Estrada, a mesquite charcoal business, and a summer camp for Tohono O’odham children.

The program’s signature achievement was securing Tohono O’odham lands from encroachment by non-indigenous miners staking mining claims on tribal lands. Because of Juan’s efforts, a special bill was passed by Congress and signed by President Eisenhower with the help of Barry Goldwater and Stuart Udall. Juan was named an honorary member of the nation for this accomplishment. Eventually he became head of AFSC’s Southwest Indian Program and traveled the region working with a number of Southwest indigenous nations.

Juan served as a released Friend for Pima Meeting, Arizona Half-Yearly Meeting and Intermountain Yearly Meeting for a number of years, seeking binational solutions to the immigration crisis on the southern border. In good order, his oversight committee met with him regularly and reviewed and approved his efforts. Juan traveled to meet government officials of both the United States and Mexico as a Quaker speaking truth to power and calling on them to address the crisis. Reports were regularly made to the bodies which had released him for this important work. While there were no breakthroughs to trumpet, his committee believed that the hard work of planting seeds for future change should not go unrecognized. Juan joins a long line of Quakers who did the important work of stirring the consciences of persons in power to be better and do better.

Juan and Dorothy had five children – Juan, Ricardo, Dennis, Miranda, and Bruce – and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Juan’s patient and caring presence in the midst of the Pima Meeting community is missed and cherished by all who worshiped and served with him.

Approved at Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business 14th day, 1st Month, 2024