Guillermo "Wil" Juare

Guillermo "Wil" Juare, 80, of South Bend passed away on Saturday April 26, 2025, at Creekside Village. Wil was born January 24, 1945, in El Paso, Texas, to the late Francisco Frescas and Delphina (Valdez) Juare. Francisco and Delphina had three sons and then divorced. Delphina cared for the children independently until she met and married Joseph Juare, a soldier in the American Army. Joe adopted Wil and his younger brothers. An Army reassignment brought the family to Georgia.
Wil joined the United States Marines out of high school and completed two tours of duty during the Vietnam War as a radio operator attached to a tank detail. He eventually retired from the Marine Corps in 1984 after a long and distinguished career. After this, Wil continued to work as a civilian contractor in electronics engineering at a company headquartered in Hawaii.
On November 28, 1992, Wil married Shirley Ward. He continued to work as an electronics engineer in various companies until 2002, when he retired and moved from Hawaii to Minnesota for health reasons. In Minnesota Wil volunteered at his local church helping prepare adults to become Catholic.That led him to move to Ohio, where he earned his Masters of Theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2012.
After earning his Master's degree, Wil moved back to Minnesota, where he and Shirley continued to be active in the People of Praise and their Catholic parish. One group that became particularly meaningful to Wil was the Divine Mercy Cenacle; group members study Scripture and pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Wil and Shirley also felt called to volunteer with the Marriage in Christ program. The Marriage in Christ seminar is an outreach of the People of Praise to help married couples renew their love and affection for each other and for the Lord, strengthen their unity as a couple and learn how to recognize the presence of God in ordinary life.
When the extremely cold Minnesota winters started adversely affecting his health, Wil moved his household, including his wife and niece Amy Laust, to South Bend, Indiana. He continued to be an enthusiastic evangelist whose friendship embraced everyone, and to be a leader and mentor in the People of Praise and in St. Joseph Church, South Bend. right up until his death in April 2025.
Wil is survived by his wife, Shirley Juare, his daughter, Heather (Christopher) Bellus, and his brothers Samuel (Beth) Juare and Edward (Anna) Frescas and sister-in-law Penny (David) Juare.
He was preceded in death by his parents, stepfather and brother David (Penny) Juare.
Visitation for Wil is being held from 3pm-5pm on Thursday May 8, 2025, at the People of Praise Center, 53666 N. Ironwood Rd. South Bend and from 11am-12pm on Friday May 9, 2025 at St. Joseph Church, 226 N. Hill St. South Bend. A funeral service will begin at noon. Burial with military honors will follow at Fairview Cemetery, Mishawaka.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Marriage in Christ Program, People of Praise Center, 53666 N. Ironwood Rd. South Bend, IN 46635.
Online condolences to the family may be sent via the Palmer Funeral Homes website at www.palmerfuneralhomes.com
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