Dr. José G. Valderas

1926 - 2021

Dr. José G. Valderas
January 16, 1926 - February 13, 2021
Keller, Texas - José G. Valderas, M.D. passed away peacefully in his home in Keller, Texas on February 13th while surrounded by family at 95 years of age. He is survived by his loving wife, Roberta (Bobbie) Redman Valderas, their two children, Leah and Andrew; his six children, Maria, José, Robert, Mark, Merci, and Rick from his first marriage to Peggy Wahl Valderas; and his fourteen grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren on the way. Jose's daughter, Peggy, devastatingly passed in her youth at the age of 18.
José was born in Ciales, a small town in north-central Puerto Rico, and was the youngest of a family of six children. He exhibited intellectual brilliance at an early age and skipped four grades of school, graduating from high school at the age of 14. He won a full scholarship to the University of Puerto Rico, where he majored in chemistry, graduated at 17, and again won a full scholarship to the University of Maryland Medical School. Upon completing residencies at St. Agnes Hospital and in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, he returned to Baltimore where he completed a residency in OB-GYN at the University of Maryland Hospital. He then served as a captain in the Air Force as the OB-GYN doctor on a base in Mississippi until returning to Baltimore and practicing at St. Agnes Hospital for the rest of his career. He served as the Chief of OB-GYN for seven years during his tenure. He performed surgery at the University of Maryland Hospital and the Greater Baltimore Medical Center, lectured at the University of Maryland, and ran his private practice independently for twelve years until he was joined by a partner over the balance of his career. His practice brought over 11,000 babies into the world by the time of his retirement. No doubt he was well-known in the Catonsville area.
José's foremost legacy derives from the impact he had on others. His patients regularly recount examples of his professionalism, compassion, and skill in helping to bring their children into the world; through untold difficulties, his expertise navigated the most fragile of lives from harm. He restored countless women to health through his gynecological surgery. He wrote, "My years of practice were very happy for me. I loved the practice of OB-GYN. I can't think of anything I would have done that I would have enjoyed more."
Dr. Valderas also had an impact on the lives of young men through his love of scholastic basketball. He escorted several teams of Cardinal Gibbons High School, where two of his sons played, on trips to his beloved Puerto Rico where they participated in tournaments in the 1970s. He returned nearly annually to the island with his sons to snorkel and gather with family.
He was happy with his life and loved his family dearly, including those in Puerto Rico. Upon blowing out candles on his 93rd birthday, he cheered, "Life for me has been extremely good, extremely interesting and I am very happy that I was born and that I was here and that I enjoyed my life."
The family plans to hold a celebration of life in the near future. In the meantime, in lieu of flowers, donations in his name may be made to the United Way of Puerto Rico (unitedwaypr.org).