Ines Arango

Palm Beach Gardens - Ines Arango, a longtime resident of the Palm Beaches, passed away peacefully surrounded by family at the Clinica del Rosario Hospital on May 15th,2024, in her birthplace of Medellín, Colombia. The cause was complications of vascular dementia.

Born October 16th, 1943, the third of thirteen children to Jorge Restrepo Cuartas and Alba Naranjo Duque, she graduated high school from el Colegio de la Enseñanza in 1963 and attended nursing school at The San Vicente Hospital Nursing School where she graduated as a registered nurse.

It was during nursing school that she met the love of her life, Dr. Luis A. Arango. They were married on January 8th, 1966, in Medellín. Although she had spent her entire life in Colombia, she accompanied him to Washington, D.C. where he completed a residency in Pediatrics at Georgetown University, where they welcomed their first child, Jorge Luis, in 1967.

In 1968 the family moved to Charlottesville, Virginia as her husband finished a fellowship in the new field of neonatology. She worked as a nurse at the University of Virginia Medical Center and taught herself English, studying at night after she completed her work shifts.

In 1970, the family returned to Medellín as they welcomed their second child, Juan Pablo. In 1973, Luis accepted a position as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. This meant coming to terms with living in Tornado Alley and the brutal midwestern winters which she would later tell how awful they were to everyone and anyone. In that time, she raised her two small boys, taking the youngest with her as she volunteered with Meals on Wheels and with her Tuesday afternoon bowling team, the Blue Belles.

After five of these winters, she reached her limit and convinced her husband to accept the newly created position as the Chief of Neonatology at St. Mary's Hospital in West Palm Beach. The family settled in Palm Beach Gardens, where they welcomed their third son, Sebastian, in the aftermath of her first Florida storm, Hurricane David. South Florida agreed with her, and the next years were spent ferrying the kids to swim practice, feeding the neighborhood kids, baking truly excellent cakes and cookies and as an active parishioner of St. Ignatius Loyola.

After her husband's retirement in 1998, the empty nesters began splitting their time between Medellín, Colombia, North Hutchison Island, and West Palm Beach. After her husband's death in 2006, she began spending more time near her family in Medellín but made frequent extended trips to visit her growing brood of grandchildren in New York, Alabama, and Miami.

She is preceded in death by her husband Luis Alfonso, her siblings Clemencia, Esteban, Francisco, Victoria, and Misael Fernando. She is survived by her sons, Dr. Jorge Luis Arango, an ophthalmologist in Dothan, Alabama, Dr. Pablo Arango a head and neck surgeon in Miami, Florida, and Sebastian Arango, a finance professional in New York, NY along with ten grandchildren.

We will remember her as someone who was utterly devoted to raising her children and was immensely proud of their achievements in school and sports as well as a devoted wife, aunt to over thirty nieces and nephews and as a doting grandmother. A connoisseur of porcelain, she lovingly leaves behind an impressive collection of Lladro, Capo di Monti and Limoges pieces as well as various tchotchkes from the innumerable gift shops she visited. A seasoned traveler, she was particularly fond of cruises and pilgrimages to Lourdes, France as she was especially devoted to Our Lady of Lourdes. We will miss her encyclopedic knowledge of the oral history of our family, and we will always remember her warm smile, easy laugh, and loving heart. A funeral mass was held in Medellín on May 17th, 2024, at Santa Maria de los Dolores Catholic Church, where her remains were interred next to her husband's.

In her memory, please consider donating to Corporación Pueblo de los Niños, a charity foundation established in in the memory of her deceased brother-in-law Fr. Pablo Arango S.J., created to provide greatly needed assistance to adolescents from difficult and underprivileged backgrounds in Colombia. Donations can be made here (https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/vidas-con/).