When Juanita Arroues went home to be with Jesus on May 30, 2022, in Boise, Idaho, she left a legacy of faith, intentionality, creativity, and compassion that will forever inform our lives.
Juanita was born on April 29, 1939, in Huntington Park, California, to parents Frank and Florence Nation. She grew up with her two brothers, Ron and Frank Nation. They might not have admitted it, but their sister could probably throw a baseball better than either one of them.
At the seasoned age of 13, Juanita began dating the love of her life, LeRoi Arroues. He was 17. They married in 1956, and for almost 66 years their relationship defined true love for the rest of us.
Juanita had no formal schooling beyond her graduation from Brea Olinda High School, but as an insatiable reader and inquisitive learner, she possessed more knowledge and wisdom than any doctoral degree could have provided.
She was a writer. A painter. A pianist. A photographer. A teacher.
Throughout LeRoi’s long career as a pastor, Juanita was his sounding board and muse, his pillar and idea person. Together, they served their churches with joy and tenacity.
Their three children—Jeanelle Reider, Denise Van Artsdalen, and Frank Arroues—knew that Mom would do anything for them. She stayed up countless nights sewing cheerleading outfits, making team banners, and typing term papers. She would drop everything to pray with them, console them, extend wisdom to them.
But if one of them teased her, she’d stop mid-task to chase them around the house, shouts and laughter ricocheting off the walls. With Juanita, once the giggling started there was no controlling it.
The gifts of laughter and love did not stop with the first generation. They extended to her grandchildren, then to her great-grandchildren. They knew that Grandma Nita was up for any adventure. They knew she was their champion. She saw their potential and called out the artists, photographers, musicians, actors, athletes, chefs, and entrepreneurs among them. She accepted them for who they were, always extending grace and hope.
Nor did Juanita’s gifts stop with her kids and grandkids. Her brothers, parents and in-laws, nieces and nephews, friends, church family—they all knew she was a servant to the core. A connector. Someone to talk with about the things that really mattered.
When Juanita’s stroke in February 2010 took away her capacity to use these gifts to their full extent, those who knew her grieved—for her, and for themselves. Her family called it The Great Sadness.
But there were many joys in the 12 years that followed. Juanita’s sparkly blue eyes that lit up when you walked in the room. Her empathetic expression. Her hand squeezes.
Perhaps the greatest joy for those who spent time with her was seeing LeRoi’s exquisite devotion to his sweetheart. Except for the months when COVID protocols kept the two of them apart, LeRoi spent several hours almost every single day helping Juanita eat and drink, holding her hand, reading the Bible to her, praying with her, and listening to music with her.
LeRoi was deeply appreciative of the tender care and attention the people at Good Samaritan Society and Meridian Meadows Transitional Care showed his beautiful wife. They, in turn, were moved by LeRoi’s faithfulness to his soulmate.
When they commented on it, he would simply say, “But I love her.”
And he would credit God’s help and strength as the reason he’d been able to persevere.
The same help and strength had sustained Juanita throughout her life. She had always been a woman of deep faith, delighting in the study of God’s Word, praying for others, and growing in her walk with Christ. Her favorite verse was 3 John 4, “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.” But she could have quoted countless others.
A memorial service for Juanita will be hosted on Saturday June 11 at 9:00 AM at Living Hope Bible Church (formerly Ustick Baptist Church), 14301 W. McMillan Road, Boise, Idaho.
Donations in honor of Juanita may be made to Living Hope Bible Church or the Boise Rescue Mission.
Juanita’s friends and loved ones miss her dearly. But they don’t grieve for her anymore. She is fully free, worshiping the Lord she loves.