Marco Tulio Eugenio M.D.

Marco Tulio Eugenio, MD

San Antonio - Marco Tulio Eugenio, MD, died peacefully at home on May 22, 2019 in San Antonio, Texas at the age of 92. His passing brings to an end an accomplished life as a Board Certified Neurosurgeon, husband, father, brother and grandfather. Marco Eugenio is survived by his wife of 68 years, Mercedes Quintero de Eugenio; his daughter, Doris Eugenio, her husband Eric Korte and their sons Evan and Elliot; his son, Tony Eugenio, his wife Jane Schaefer and their children, Victoria, Everett and John Marco; his son, James Eugenio, his wife Julie and their children Michael and Isa; his daughter, Leslie Bloom, her husband Robert and their children Taylor and Mercedes; and his sisters, Nico Eugenio de Osorio and Eleana Eugenio.

Marco was born on May 13, 1927 to Marco Tulio and Maria Nicodemus Eugenio, a poor but hard-working family in Caracas, Venezuela. His humble origins were an unlikely prelude to a life that epitomized the American Dream.

His medical journey commenced in 1945, when by law any high-school graduate in Venezuela could attend Medical School. Out of four hundred applicants, all but 150 students were eliminated the first year by a very demanding weekly anatomy test. After graduating from Medical School and serving as a rural doctor in Venezuela for a year, it was clear to him that to excel as a doctor, he needed continue his medical training in the United States.

With the help of his new wife, Mercedes, who wrote his application letters in English, he was accepted to the Cleveland Clinic, where with very limited English he began his training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation but discovered a passion for Neurosurgery. After a challenging two and a half years due to language and cultural barriers, long hours and starting a family, he was accepted into the five-year General Surgery/Neurosurgery residency at the Cleveland Clinic with subsequent residencies at The University of Chicago, Iowa, Venezuela and Scotland.

After practicing for two years in Houston, Dr. Eugenio began his private practice in Neurosurgery in Abilene, Texas for eleven years where he became a Board Certified Neurosurgeon and naturalized U.S. citizen. There, his ongoing interest in the cutting edge medical innovations and technologies led him to become one of the first micro-neurosurgeons of his day. He later founded the Neurological Clinic in Corpus Christi, Texas, which within 20 years expanded to have four neurosurgeons and five neurologists. He was elected President of the Medical Board of Texas, President of the Nueces County Medical and Surgical Societies, and helped develop rehabilitation centers in both Abilene and Corpus Christi.

At 60, his patriotic love and appreciation for his adoptive country inspired him to join the Army reserves and soon after deployed to the US Army's Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany in support of Operation Desert Storm. At 65, he was invited to join the active military where he fulfilled a dream to share his knowledge in neurosurgery teaching a wide variety of doctors training at the Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii for five years as a Senior Surgeon. After retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel he returned to private practice for another five years ending his active neurosurgical career in Midland, Texas. Even then, he continued to review medical malpractice cases through his 80's.

Athletics played an important role in Marco's early life. His abilities in soccer as a youth granted him the opportunity to attend the best private school in Caracas, San Ignacio de Loyola, where most of his classmates were from the families of the wealthy upper class. In high school, he was a champion in fencing, a high jumper, member of the 400 meter relay team, catcher, pitcher, boxer, and member of the basketball team. Winning the National Venezuelan Soccer Championship in his senior year as a first-division, star goalkeeper was his proudest moment at the time; however the success was bittersweet because he couldn't afford the ticket to attend the victory party. Years later he found a scrapbook which his mother had quietly composed of newspaper clippings and articles published in the capital's paper highlighting his athletic participation and accomplishments.

Marco maintained a love of sports throughout his life. He was selected for the Venezuelan National Fútbol Team, representing Venezuela in Argentina in 1951 for the First Pan-American Games. Other international competitions followed against Colombia, Brazil, Holland (Curaçao), Chile, and Paraguay. After moving to the United States, he enjoyed playing in soccer leagues, snow skiing, and playing tennis into his later life.

Marco and Mercedes were true adventurers. Their passion for travel took them around the globe to every continent, from Europe to Africa and Asia to Australia. They took every travel opportunity they could -- whether it was a trip to Russia in the 1960's to look behind the Iron Curtain or being among the first westerners to visit a newly open China in the 1980's. They snaked their way down the Amazon during their late 70's and even trekked into to Antarctica in their 80's. His love of music spanned many cultures and genres - from Beethoven to Frank Sinatra and Willie Nelson to the Venezuelan Latin dance music of Billo's Caracas Boys.

Marco often said, "I have had a privileged life". May he rest in peace.

The family will hold a private memorial. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made in Marco's name to Doctors Without Borders, 888-392-0392, asking that donations be allocated to Medical Care in Venezuela.