DR. LUIS M. RAMIREZ
Father • Physician • Our Hero
T H E I R H E R O S T O R Y
My Dad, My Hero
by Kathy Kurek
My dad has always been my hero.
As the fifth of six children, I somehow still felt that Dad was my dad. I adored him. As a little girl, I thought there was very little he couldn't do. As an adult, I came to understand just how extraordinary he really was.
Dad was a perpetual student. Medicine was his profession, but learning was simply part of who he was. He became a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and remained endlessly curious throughout his life. He was an avid reader, a polyglot comfortable with multiple languages, and he had the wonderful ability to play music by ear.
Some of my happiest childhood memories are of Dad sitting at the piano or picking up his guitar and entertaining us. He might play the traditional Mexican song El Rancho Grande, switch to a romantic French ballad for my mom, or launch into festive holiday music while all six children sang along—some of us undoubtedly better than others.
It was such fun.
But what I remember most about my father wasn't what he accomplished. It was how he lived.
Dad was a man of strong Catholic faith, but he never felt the need to announce it. He simply lived his faith every day through his choices, his generosity, and the way he treated other people. He expressed his faith less through what he said and more through how he lived.
He was a profoundly dedicated and respected physician, teacher, and mentor—and a fiercely loyal friend. He practiced medicine in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where much of his work served the Latino community. He also volunteered his medical services at juvenile and adult detention centers, caring for people who might otherwise have struggled to receive the medical attention they needed.
His generosity crossed religious boundaries as naturally as his compassion crossed economic ones. He never charged members of the clergy for their medical care, regardless of whether they were Catholic priests, ministers, or rabbis. Their faith didn't have to be his faith for him to honor their service.
And then there was Christmas.
Dad cared for many large families in the community who simply couldn't afford to pay their medical bills. He knew those unpaid balances caused worry and stress. So at Christmastime, he would forgive the debt. He would simply zero out their accounts.
No fanfare. No recognition. No expectation of anything in return.
Just a Christmas gift from their doctor.
That was my dad.
Generous. Thoughtful. Gentle. Brilliant. Faithful. And fiercely loving.
Of all the things he accomplished in his lifetime, perhaps his greatest gift to his six children wasn't something he gave us at all.
It was the example he left us.
He showed us that intelligence matters more when accompanied by humility. That success carries an obligation to help others. That faith is most powerful when demonstrated rather than announced. And that generosity doesn't always require recognition.
My dad has always been my hero.
Not because he told us how to live a good life.
Because every day, he showed us.
H O N O R E D B Y
The Ramirez/Kurek Family