The Jan. 6 celebration is also known as the Feast of the Epiphany, Twelfth Day or Little Christmas. It commemorates the arrival of the kings, also known as Magi or Wise Men, to Bethlehem to give gifts to the newborn Christ child.
Juan and his fellow officers were handsomely turned out in costumes of the biblical era, and passed out gifts from the bags they carried.
Juan Amaro, a Philadelphia police officer who earned certification as a polygraphist, an Army veteran of the Vietnam War and a security officer at Atlantic City casinos, died Jan. 11. He was 71 and lived in Pleasantville, N.J.
He was born in Culebra, Puerto Rico, to Marta and Nilo Amaro. He attended schools in Puerto Rico and Philadelphia before entering the Army.
After his service, Juan joined the Philadelphia police force and worked with polygraphs interrogating criminal suspects.
He later moved to New Jersey and worked in security at Harrah's and the Claridge casinos. He also worked for the Atlantic City and the Pleasantville boards of education, and the Pleasantville Zoning Board.
Juan was a former commander of American Legion Post 81 and was a member of St. Gianna Berreta Church in Northfield, N.J.
He is survived by his wife, Maria; two daughters, Alexandra Lozada and Julie Rodriguez; three sons, Juan Jr., Miguel and Inocencio; a sister, Arcadia Seda; two brothers, Miguel and Inocencio; 11 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
Services: Were Jan. 14.
