John de Jesús Cifuentes Montoya died peacefully at home on November 11, 2022 with his beloved wife Pamela A. Danesi by his side. To all who knew him, he was a wonderfully kindhearted and generous man with a passion for social justice, empathy for those in need, and a lifelong love of teaching and learning. John was a great conversationalist, and would love to regale family and friends with long stories rich in detail from his past. He was a man of faith whose life was shaped by love of family. 

John was born on December 15, 1935 in the remote rural village of Abriaquí, Antioquia, Colombia high in the Andes mountains. He grew up in the neighboring town of Caicedo where his parents, Jesús M.Cifuentes and Mercedes Montoya , owned a coffee plantation. From a young age, he was seized by a curiosity about the world which inspired his desire to learn.  He earned a scholarship to pursue higher education and graduated in 1961 from the Normal Nacional Superior de Varones in Manizales with a degree of Maestro Superior (Superior Teacher), and a Bachiller from Casa Cultural Moreno y Escandon Instituto de Bachillarato in Bogotá in 1961. He subsequently attended Universidad Nacional de Colombia in Bogotá to study sociology as a way of assisting his community with conflict resolution. He learned the great need for this process much earlier, when he convinced his father to go into hiding during the turbulent La Violencia period in Colombia and thus saved his father from certain murder by the paramilitaries.         

After the death of his father in 1963, John returned to Caicedo to help manage the family farm. Knowing first hand the limited    educational opportunities available to children, he began enlisting the help of local teachers and government leaders to expand the grade levels and resources available. This determined effort to aid the poor through education led to his founding of the secondary school Instituto de Educatión Media San Juan Bosco in Caicedo. On the occasion of the school’s 50th anniversary in 2016, John was invited to return for the celebration and honored publicly for his service to the children and the community.          

 Growing up on a farm, John had a soft spot in his heart for animals. He gained the trust of horses that he trained for riding with kindness and patience, and he loved to relate funny stories of stubborn wayward cows and comical antics of a mother hen berating her chicks. In later years, everyone knew how attached he was to his pet cat, Peep, whom he would take on road trips, with Peep calmly sitting in the front seat by his side.     

 Seeking wider experience and fuller opportunities, John emigrated to the United States in 1970 and continued teaching. When he decided to pursue a second career in real estate, he attended New York University and earned a Certificate in Real Estate Management. He managed buildings in mid-town Manhattan before purchasing his own multi-family apartment building in Brooklyn. John benefited from a knack for fixing almost anything. As a building manager, he easily mastered the workings of plumbing, heating, and electricity and could make all the repairs himself if necessary. This talent endeared him to tenants of all the buildings he managed. And, perhaps more important than the physical repairs, he always treated people with respect and fairness, and would often generously help tenants with good deeds, both large and small -- he once searched the neighborhood to find a priest to give Last Rites to a dying man, and another time, offered to find help for an alcoholic tenant who had been violently attacked and robbed.                 

After moving to his home on Shore Road in Brooklyn, John was dismayed by the poor condition of the nearby park which was falling into neglect and being used as a dumping ground. He started by cleaning up a small area and planting flowers himself, but as interest from his neighbors grew, he petitioned local city government officials as well as the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to recognize this part of the park as a separate area. Narrows Botanical Garden was officially founded in 1995 as a result of his commitment. 

John´s interest in the wider world continued throughout his life. He enjoyed travelling to many countries, from Mexico, South America, and Europe. He followed news from around the world -- most mornings he could be found reading Colombian periodicals as well as the New York Times and The Economist. He loved to attend the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic. 

John is survived by his loving wife Pamela, his devoted daughter Patricia Amparo Cifuentes and son-in-law Carlos Enrique Munoz, his granddaughter Maria Alejandra Munoz, and his sister Blanca Rose Cifuentes. He was preceded in death by his brother Jose Eucaris Cifuentes. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the St. Vincent de Paul Society or World Central Kitchen. 

Ilumíname, Señor. 

Impregna de tu luz mi espíritu para que yo, embebido en tu contemplación, pueda conocerte y expandir tu nombre. Deja Señor, que tan siquiera, una sola gota de tu sangre ruede por mi alma y la fecundice, para que inflamado mi espíritu con el fuego de la fé, reviente el fervor de aquellos que aún te desconocen. Y, has, Señor, que yo esté en Tí, para que, cumplida vuestra Divina Voluntad, pueda un día volar a la mansión eterna. ¡ Y, llévame, Señor, hasta donde quieras que yo vaya!

Escrita por John de Jesús Cifuentes

Agosto 13 de 1959

Enlighten me, Lord.

May your light suffuse my spirit 

so that, lost in your contemplation,

I can know you and amplify your name.

Lord, let even 

a single drop of your blood

roll by my soul and fortify it,

so that, my spirit, inflamed by the fire of faith,

burst the fervor of those that still do not know you.

And make, Lord, me into You, 

so that, completing your divine will,

I will one day be able to fly

to the eternal home.

And take me, Lord, to where

you want me to go.

John de J. Cifuentes

1959