Luis A. Arango

Family-Placed Funeral Notice

LUIS A. ARANGO Luis A. Arango M.D., a pioneer in the field of Neonatology and a longtime resident of the Palm Beaches passed away peacefully on October 1, 2006. Born January 2, 1938, in Medellín, Colombia, Dr. Arango earned his medical doctorate in 1963 from the University of Antioquia in Medellín, Colombia. He emigrated to his adopted country, the United States, and began his medical residency at Georgetown University Medical Center in 1965. When Dr. Arango finished his fellowship in Neonatology at the University of Virginia Medical Center in 1969, he was one of the first graduates from an American fellowship program in this newly emerging field in Neonatology, dedicated to the care and treatment of premature newborns. Dr. Arango's accomplishments were not limited to the United States. In 1969, he was the first physician in Colombia to perform an exchange transfusion in a newborn. Upon returning to the United States, he was an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Creighton University in Omaha, NE from 1973-1978. Dr. Arango moved to the Palm Beaches in 1978 to launch the first Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Palm Beach County at St. Mary's Hospital in West Palm Beach. Dr. Arango was Chief of the Division of Neonatology at St. Mary's Hospital from 1978-1990 and was critical in establishing other high level nurseries at Martin Memorial Hospital and Port St. Lucie Medical Center. He is survived by his loving and dedicated wife of over 40 years, Ines Arango Restrepo, a former registered nurse, and by his three sons who continued his legacy and dedication to learning and education: Jorge L. Arango M.D., an ophthalmologist in Dothan, AL, Pablo Arango M.D., a head and neck surgeon in New York, NY, and by Sebastian Arango, Esq., an investment banker in New York, NY. He is also survived by six grandchildren: Sofia, Nicholas, Gabriel, Alicia, Anastasia, and Catherine. Dr. Arango was the eldest son of Alfonso Arango, M.D. and Sofia Arango Fonnegra. He was preceded in death by his father, his mother, and his brother Pablo Arango S.J. He is also survived by his sister Gloria Arango de Uribe of Medellí n, Colombia and his brother Juan Ignacio Arango of Bogotá, Colombia. Dr. Arango was honored by the Variety Club of the Palm Beaches with the First Annual Heart Award in 1988 for his dedication and life-saving efforts on behalf of premature infants at St. Mary's Hospital. He will also be survived by the countless premature newborns whose lives he cherished and worked tirelessly to preserve in Medellin, Colombia, Washington D.C., Charlottesville, VA, Omaha, NE, and West Palm Beach, FL. The family will receive friends on Tuesday, October 3, from 6 pm – 8 pm at Howard Price Funeral Home at 754 U.S. Highway 1 in North Palm Beach. A longtime active parishioner of St. Ignatius Loyola, Dr. Arango's funeral mass will take place on Wednesday, October 4, at 11 a.m. at St. Ignatius Loyola Cathedral in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. A final service and burial will take place in Medellín, Colombia on October 6, 2006. To express condolences and/or make donations Visit PalmBeachPost.com/obituaries