MANUEL GUILLERMO HERRERA

1932 - 2022

HERRERA, Manuel Guillermo Doctor, Scientist, and Thought-provoker. Father, Adventurer, Athlete, and Friend. Manuel Guillermo Herrera Aceña of Newton, MA, passed away January 19, 2022 at age 89, after a private battle with cancer. He was a patriarch, an intellectual, a devil's advocate, an adventurer, and a friend. Sometimes Guillermo and sometimes Manny, he was known in the last 28 years as "Bebu" (a mispronunciation of "abuelo" by his oldest grandchild Brittney). He was born in Guatemala in 1932, in the Depression, and grew up in the shadow of World War II. At 16, he came to the U.S. to improve his English, then entered the Harvard College Class of 1953, concentrating in biochemistry. He met the love of his life -- Libby Gould, a year behind him at Radcliffe -- his sophomore year. They were together 67 years, until her passing in 2017. They made a life in Newton Highlands, MA; many of their special neighbors became part of their extended family. Guillermo went on to Harvard Medical School (Class of 1957), focusing on intermediate metabolism, lipogenesis, protein metabolism, and diabetes. At the Joslin laboratory, he researched protein synthesis, gluconeogenesis, and lipogenesis. After a stint traveling the world as the physician for the New York Philharmonic under Leonard Bernstein, he returned to Boston as an internal medicine specialist for the Peter Bent Brigham (now Brigham and Women's) Hospital. In 2017 he was honored for 60 years of service to the Brigham. At the Brigham, Guillermo learned of the problems non-English-speaking people face when attempting to obtain care. In 1971, in collaboration with clinicians, social workers, and community services, he founded what would become his life's greatest work: a primary care Spanish Clinic completely staffed by bilingual providers that catered to the unmet needs of Latino patients in Boston. He enjoyed medicine as an academic pursuit – a series of puzzles – but was fiercely committed to his generations of patients. The Brigham's Spanish Clinic operated for 46 years; regrettably, it closed when he was injured in a bike accident in 2017. Parallel to his work at the Brigham, Guillermo was a long-standing faculty member at the Harvard School of Public Health. He taught medical and other graduate students, regarding teaching as his most rewarding professional activity. He studied malnutrition, vitamin A use, and public health in collaboration with the World Bank, USAID, NIH, UNICEF, HIID and others in the Sudan, Colombia, Guatemala, India, Iraq, Kuwait, and Malawi. Before his time, he saw public health outcomes and the influence of nutrition as complex interdisciplinary problems with many driving factors. In his own words: "I am convinced health is a function of both medicine and society. I have been privileged in my life to do health research around the world, which has given me insight into the problems we face in providing care for the most vulnerable. Through this work, I learned much about cultures recovering from colonization. My experiences contributed to my understanding of the urgency of addressing the problems not just of malnutrition, but also of poverty and inequity. The latter is a multivariate series of problems that influence physical growth and cognitive development, which are part of human nature. Much more work needs to be done to address these issues. The responsibility for this lies with the next generations. They need to become educated, question previous assumptions, and relentlessly pursue research that will allow us to better understand the why and the how of our human condition, in order to address the challenges human beings face today and going forward." Concurrently with founding the Spanish Clinic, Guillermo developed Harvard Medical School's course "Medicine 518," which trained students in Spanish for two months, followed by international clinical rotations in Latin America -- another attempt to overcome barriers to equitable care for the Latino population. These two initiatives evolved into an integrated program that has graduated physicians sensitive to the needs of Latinos and able to practice medicine in Spanish, since 1971. Over a thousand Harvard medical students have enrolled in a "total immersion" medical Spanish course, followed by work in the Spanish Clinic and a rotation in under-served areas of Latin America including: Columbia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Chile, and Bolivia. Though he retired from teaching Medicine 518 in 2017, the program continues to this day. Guillermo was from his youth an avid hiker, rock, and ice climber, with a vibrant group of "climbing buddies" that developed from his involvement with the outing club in college and the Appalachian Mountain Club. He frequented the White Mountains in all seasons (once falling with fellow climber and close friend Leigh Andrews more than 200 ft in an avalanche in Mt. Washington's Huntington's Ravine). He climbed in New York's Shawangunks, the Grand Teton, and elsewhere. He led thousands of family hikes in the White mountains from the pre-revolutionary 'base camp' he bought in the 1950s with Libby in South Conway, NH. A few years ago, already battling cancer and impaired by a cycling accident, he hiked with Andrews near the Grand Canyon and among rock formations of Utah. Upon recently learning that he was gravely ill, his friend said, "Tell Guillermo to set up camp. I'll be on my way shortly." Guillermo was an avid kayaker, paddling with Libby and others on the Charles River, the coast of Maine, Vietnam, and in Chilean fjords. A consummate athlete, Guillermo enjoyed a lifelong love affair with cycling. For decades he commuted by bike year-round from his house in Newton to the Longwood medical area. He began racing at age 55 when his son took up the sport, and they raced together in the Killington Stage Race, the Coupe des Amériques in Quebec, the Charleston (RI) Classic, and elsewhere. In the Spring of 2017, at age 85, while on a 35-mile training ride for the USA Cycling National Championships, he was struck by a car and incurred catastrophic injuries. These ended his racing career, though he did eventually ride and kayak again. He was convinced that his lifetime of fitness and cycling allowed him to survive the accident. Guillermo lived a rich, varied, and influential life. He was by nature a thinker and a teacher. He loved to make people question their assumptions and explain their beliefs. He was stubborn, took a long time to make decisions, and was often late to things. He was also brilliant, kind, and wise, with a wicked sense of humor. He will be missed in Boston, Guatemala, and elsewhere by family, bike racers, climbers, patients, coworkers, neighbors, and friends. He is survived by his beloved sister Leonor; daughters Susana and Maria; son Guillermo (Ta); and seven grandchildren: Brittney, Drew, Thandi, Jason, Nangwa, Oscar, and Nico. We will miss his presence, his strength, his curiosity, his sense of adventure, and his companionship. A joint Memorial Service will be held in June 2022, for both Libby and Guillermo Herrera. Donations can be made to: La Alianza Hispana, 1000 Mass Ave, Suite 101, Boston, MA 02118.

View the online memorial for Manuel Guillermo HERRERA