Michael Juzba

Dr. Michael Juzba was the son of Michael and Lottie E. Juzba who were Ukrainian and German immigrants after World War II. Landing in New York harbor, they went through Ellis Island and settled in Chicago. If you go to New York today you will find their names on The American Immigrant Wall of Honor at Ellis Island which stands in tribute to all those who left their home to establish new roots in America. His parents pursued and achieved The American Dream and ultimately moved to California when Michael was in high school.
Michael's parents were hard workers. They focused his upbringing on being honest, diligent, and hard working; they also stressed education which showed later in his life. Michael's parents were giving and caring people and they fostered this in him as well. It was one of his most outstanding traits. People frequently commented on all of these characteristics on when they spoke of Michael.
Michael's older sister, Irene, challenged Michael in many ways. From his sister, Michael developed a sense of deep kindness and fairness.
On the first Saturday of October 1993, Michael went on a blind lunch date at Gladstone's in Malibu. A friend of his setup the date. Her name was Teresa. Neither of them really wanted to go that day. But, the first thing he saw was her twinkly eyes and she only saw Michael's bright beaming smile. Michael teased her about the fact that he had finally found "a short person."
From that first date, they each knew that the relationship was kismet. On New Year's Eve of that year, Michael asked her if it would be "Ok" to ask her later to marry him. In May of 1994, on his parents wedding anniversary, Michael asked Teresa to marry him. And, on November 5, 1994, they married. On November 5, 2011, they were married for seventeen good years. Four days later, he passed away.

Education

Doctor of Pharmacy, 1981
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California
Rho Chi Honor Society

Intern Pharmacist, 1977-1981
Northridge Hospital
Northridge, California
Resident in Pharmacy Administration, 1982
University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

Master of Business Administration, 1989
Pepperdine University
Los Angeles, California
Cumulative Grade Point Average: 3.86

Master of Science - Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy, 1999
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California
Cumulative Grade Point Average: 3.69

Bachelor of Arts – Chemistry, 1977
California State University-Northridge
Northridge, California
Graduated cum laude

Career information

Michael had over 30 years experience as a clinical, managerial, and analytic pharmacist and was actively involved in emerging fields in the healthcare industry. He was highly accomplished in developing new systems, methods, and procedures to maximize profitability in pharmacy operations. Michael had extensive expertise in regulatory issues, standards, and compliance along with an outstanding record of accomplishment in business management of growth operations, special project management, and operational improvement implementation. After receiving his Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy in 1999, he focused upon pharmacoeconomic research and analysis. He looked at drug treatments for particular diseases, the various health outcomes for each treatment, and compared the various health outcomes to their long-term costs.

Human Interest

Michael was actively involved in helping others. In his earlier years, he sponsored a ChildFund International boy beginning from Michael's first job after finishing his Pharm.D. Michael's donations paid for an African boy's housing and school tuition for eighteen years -- until the boy became a young man. Later, he went out of his way almost on a daily basis to help the homeless. He worked at the Los Angeles Mission's Soup Kitchen every Saturday for many years cleaning large pots and any other way he could. More recently, one man standing on the busy median of Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) with his dog particularly bothered him. Michael would make special trips down PCH so that he could give the man some money for him and his dog.
Of most concern to Michael was the care and treatment to animals. It all began with his orange Persian cat that trotted up to the front door on Halloween night one year and meowed. He let her in telling Teresa that since they already had pets he would take her to the shelter in the morning. That never happened. That stray cat became his beloved. Since that night, he donated to animal charities on a regular basis and later he and Teresa adopted two more strays in need.

Activities or Hobbies

Michael had many interests. He liked reading about sports car and antique cars (and wanted one very much); following football players and games, and collected and kept a comic book collection. He was particularly interested in the cosmos and, at times, if asked what he was thinking, would reply that he was considering the formation of black holes in space…or something similar. He read Stephen Hawking's books with intrigue especially A Brief History of Time: From Big Bang to Black Holes.
As a teenager, Michael learned martial arts and bodybuilding and kept these sports up through the rest of his life. As a young man, he skied and later began to play golf. He loved traveling and seeing new places.
Music, films, and video were a unique hobby for Michael. He loved music of many kinds though he had a penchant for oldies classic rock. He had a photographic memory and could recall small details so it was easy for him to remember titles of films, producers, and actors. He would watch films multiple times and spent hours reviewing the director's cuts.

Comments by Family Members

I really loved that he was always positive and a joy to be around. He was such a hard worker but when we got together, he was always in a good mood and had nothing but good things to say. I loved the way he would talk and be so jolly; I loved his loud laugh; I loved his jokes. I think he was such a contradiction; he was so smart and hard working but loved silly things like cartoons and batman. Who would have thought? He was just one of the nicest, genuine people I have ever known. I really admire all he did and the sacrifices he made. I always admired that he "adopted" a needy child and the way he loved his pets. He had a lot of love to spread around. I am sad life got in the way and we did not get to spend time together as a couple with both of you. I really took for granted that there would be lots of time left.


Arrangements under the direction of Eternal Valley Memorial Park Mortuary, Newhall, CA.