Hugo Francisco Carvajal
Hugo's funeral will take place on October 28, 2024 at 11:30 am at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church. A vigil will be held on October 27, 2024 at 7 pm at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church.
Hugo Francisco Carvajal Ulloa passed away peacefully on October 21, 2024 surrounded by his family.
Born on a coffee farm in Costa Rica, Hugo was, from a young age, a tinkerer, a dancer, a magician, a devoted friend, the life of the party, and a protector of his family. He was full of wisdom, strength, warmth, and love, which he shared graciously with those he encountered.
While his father expected him to take over the family farm, Hugo was determined to be a doctor from a young age. It was only a week before his departure for medical school that he finally received his father’s blessing. At the age of 16, he left Costa Rica for Mexico City where he attended the National University of Mexico School of Medicine (UNAM).
Upon his graduation 6 years later, he moved to Rochester, New York, for an internship in pediatrics. He was unable to tolerate the cold weather so he transferred to tropical Galveston, Texas to complete his internship in pediatrics and a fellowship in pediatric nephrology at UTMB.
After finishing the fellowship, he was drafted by the U.S. Army and served for two years as Major at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. He developed a passion for the science of fluid and electrolytes which landed him back in Galveston as Chairman of Pediatrics at the Shriners Children’s Hospital in Galveston. To Hugo, providing care for children with burns was the most treasured period of his career, where his time was devoted to patient care, teaching, research, and publishing. After 11 years at Shriners, he transferred to Hermann Hospital in the Houston Medical Center where he served for nine years as Director of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.
His love for the city of San Antonio that emerged during his time in the Army brought him back here to pursue private practice. He worked as a pediatric intensivist and hospitalist until his recent retirement in 2020. He was a driving force in establishing the pediatric program for the Baptist Health System. Twenty two years later the pediatric program at North Central Baptist Hospital continues to serve the children in our community.
Hugo loved children and sought to brighten their days in the hospital by telling jokes and performing magic tricks with the thimbles and loose coins that were always squirreled away in his pockets. Throughout his entire career, he worked long hours, often seven days a week, but maintained that not a day went by that he did not look forward to going to work.
In addition to his extensive career in medicine, Hugo had an entrepreneurial spirit and pursued multiple businesses and real estate investments. With his family, Hugo founded The Pineapple School, an early childhood learning center offering Spanish Immersion, which remains as a testament to his passion for business, young children, family, and his Latin culture.
Hugo met Susan, a nurse, at the Texas Lions Camp serving children with diabetes in 1978. Together they celebrated 45 years of marriage on May 19th. Hugo took immense pride in his family, which included five children, 14 grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. Hugo traveled to Costa Rica often throughout his life and found great joy in sharing his country and remarkable “Tico” family with friends.
Hugo is survived by his wife, Susan Carr Carvajal; children Karina Carvajal and husband Richard Gallegos, Hugo Carvajal III and wife Olivia, Krisana Puccio and husband Juan, Eric Carvajal and wife Jennifer, and Jessie Bakke and husband Sam; grandchildren Narayan, Arjuna, Avani, Sarah, Ben, Cisco, Diego, Mateo, Louisa, Rose Marie, Eric, Tovah, Edwin and Paloma; great-grandchildren Govinda, Nimai, Bodhi, Samaya, and Uma; siblings Mirtea, Vinicio, Nadina, and Bibiana; and many other friends and family members.
Hugo was preceded in death by his parents, Hugo Carvajal Castro and Delia Ulloa Vargas.
Special thanks to Maggie, providers at The Biggs Institute, and staff at Seasons Memory Care.
“I don’t love you with my heart and mind. I love you with my soul in case my mind forgets and my heart stops.”