Luis M. Rios

LUIS M. RIOS, M.D., SENIOR
Luis M. Rios, M.D., Sr. entered into eternal rest on February 18, 2007. He was born on February 12, 1935 in Mexico City, Mexico.
Dr. Rios' father passed away when Dr. Rios was eight years old, leaving his mother as the sole provider as he grew up in Mexico City. Through the inspired devotion of his beloved mother, Maria Luisa de Rios Pastrana, Dr. Rios excelled in all of his educational pursuits, and graduated from college and medical school in Mexico with honor and distinction.
In 1960, Dr. Rios was accepted to an internship program at the St. Mary of Nazareth Hospital in Chicago, Illinois where he met his wife, Mary Ann Mungovan. They were married in 1962. They were to celebrate their forty-fifth wedding anniversary on June 23rd of this year.
Soon after their marriage, Dr. Rios accepted a position as a resident in general surgery at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. He became chief resident of that program. During their time in Nebraska, Dr. Rios and Mary Ann brought three boys into this world, Luis M. Rios, Jr., M.D., Daniel G. Rios and Edward X. Rios. After the passing of his mother, the family moved to Mexico City in 1966, where Dr. Rios practiced medicine until 1969. During that time, Jennifer Ann was born.
In 1969, Dr. Rios entered the plastic surgery residency program at the University of Texas- San Antonio. He completed that program in 1971. Though heavily recruited from established plastic surgery programs from San Antonio and other large cities, Dr. Rios made the decision to move to the Rio Grande Valley in 1971. He became one of the first Hispanic plastic and reconstructive surgeons in Texas, and was the first plastic and reconstructive surgeon in the Rio Grande Valley, where he treated patients from Starr County to Brownsville.
As his colleagues and thousands of patients can attest, Dr. Rios dedicated himself to providing incomparable medical care to his patients. Whether destitute or of considerable means, Dr. Rios never distinguished between his patients, and passionately strove to provide each with the best of care.
These virtues were perhaps best illustrated through his work as the founding member of the Rio Grande Valley Cranial-Facial Anamolies Advisory Group, where he, Dr. Phil Hunke, Dr. David Reed and others donated their time and skills to those, young and old, suffering from debilitating facial deformities. Dr. Rios felt this group most exemplified the reasons why he became a doctor, and in 1993, the Valley Association of Speech Pathologists and Audiologists awarded him with its Lifetime Achievement Award.
In keeping with his calling, Dr. Rios served his profession and community humbly, and with great dedication and distinction. He involved himself in many international, national, state, and local organizations, which included the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, RGV Cranial-Facial Anamolies Advisory Group, American Cleft Lip and Palate Association, Royal Society of Medicine, Association of Military Plastic Surgeons, Texas Board of Medical Examiners, International Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, Hidalgo-Starr County Medical Society, Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation, American Board of Plastic Surgery, American College of Surgeons, Educational Council for Foreign Medical Graduates, Creighton Surgical Society, American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, Texas Society of Plastic Surgeons and the Maliniac Circle. While he was honored to dedicate much of his time to these organizations, Dr. Rios never looked beyond the needs of his patients, whom always remained the most important priority of his professional life.
In 2005, the National Endowment for Plastic Surgery awarded Dr. Rios with its prestigious "Citation for Excellence in Humanitarian Service", formally recognizing his technical excellence and unwavering devotion to the medical needs of the people of the Rio Grande Valley. While he could not attend the ceremony, his son, Dr. Luis M. Rios, Jr., also a plastic and reconstructive surgeon, proudly accepted this honor on his behalf.
Dr. Rios also served his country as an officer in the United States Army where he achieved the rank of Lt. Colonel. He took great pride in applying his surgical skills for the benefit of the men and women serving in the United States Armed Services. He felt this was but a small token of his appreciation for the privilege of obtaining his United States citizenship and for the privilege of living in this country.
Dr. Rios retired in 2002 and succumbed to a progressive and physically debilitating disease, the onset of which began shortly after his retirement. Throughout his long battle, he remained fully cognizant of his condition and surroundings. He enjoyed spending his last years with his family and grandchildren, Christopher Rios, Emily Rios, Nicole Childress, Alyssa Childress, Sydney Childress, Steven Childress, Edward Rios and Sophia Rios. During his difficult times, he especially enjoyed all of those friends and patients who visited him.
The family hopes that those, whose lives Dr. Rios touched, remember him as a humble and skilled servant of his profession, a person who dedicated his heart and soul to the healing of his patients, no matter their circumstances.
Dr. Rios was blessed to have wonderful doctors who attended to him faithfully, as he would have to them. For this, his family thanks Dr. Jetta Marie Brown, Dr. Tommy Yee, Dr. Roger Vitko, Dr. Ramiro Verdooren and his beloved dentist, Dr. Joe Villarreal. The family also wishes to thank his caregivers who dedicated themselves to his well-being and comfort during his difficult times. They are Nick Bustamente, Olivia Rodriguez, Lisa Salazar of Innovative Home Health and Scott Henderson of the Sandy Jo Funk Hospice.
The family would like to notify his friends, patients and extended family that a visitation will take place at Kreidler Funeral Home at 314 N. 10th St., McAllen, Texas between Noon and 8pm on Friday, February 23, 2007. The family will receive visitors between 4pm and 8pm. There will be a prayer service at 7:30 p.m. A funeral service will take place at 10 a.m., February 24, 2007, at St. Joseph's Church in Edinburg, Texas.
Dr. Rios is survived by his loving wife, Mary Ann, his children and grandchildren and Mrs. Luis M. Rios, Jr., M.D. (Lisa), Mrs. Daniel G. Rios (Monica) and Mr. Brett Childress (Jennifer). The Pallbearers honoring Dr. Rios are Mr. David O. Rogers, Jr., Jose Luis Aliseda, M.D., Joe Villarreal, D.D.S., Mr. Gilbert Garcia, Mr. Joel Huerta, Mr. Albert Bergh, Ali Seif, M.D. (in absentia), Bill Reynolds and Antonio Ulloa, D.D.S.
The family encourages memorial donations to the World Cranio-Facial Foundation, P.O. Box 515838, Dallas, Texas 75251, or the Parkinson's Disease Center and Movement Disorders Clinic, Dept. of Neurology, Baylor College of Medicine, 6550 Fannin, Suite 1801, Houston, Texas 77030, or the Society for PSP, Executive Plaza III, 11350 McCormick Road, Suite 906, Hunt Valley, Maryland, 21031 (800)457-4777 or to a charity of one's choice.
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