Obituary of Hugo Quiroz

Hugo Quiroz, M.D. October 4, 1922 to  February 17, 2024

Hugo Quiroz, M.D., died on February 16 in Ann Arbor, at the age of 101. He was born in Alausí, Ecuador, on October 4, 1922, to Amáble Quiroz and Maria Teresa Quiroz Wolf.  A sister, María Teresa preceded him in death, as did two half-brothers, -Victor Manuel and Julio César. He graduated from medical school at the Universidad Central in Quito, Ecuador. He married Blanca Mejía, who bore him three sons, Rodrigo, Jorge, and Pablo, who changed their names on becoming citizens along with their father,  to Robert, who now lives in California; George, Ann Arbor,  and Peter, in Ann Arbor. That marriage ended, after which Dr. Quiroz won a Kellogg grant to come and study pathology in the United States. He did residencies Alleghany General and Emory University, before returning to Ecuador. After some time running a private lab in Ecuador, he returned to the U.S. to practice in this country, ending up first at St. Joseph’s Mercy in Ann Arbor, later at the People’s Community Hospital Authority in the downriver area..  He met and married Sharon Rogers, who bore him three daughters, Linda Quiroz Peppin  Ann Arbor, Julie Quiroz-Martinez, Puerto Rico, and Karen Quiroz Bly, Minneapolis.  He is survived by seven grandchildren and eight great grandchildren in the U.S., a  great nephew Gonzalo Verdesoto, in Ann Arbor, four nieces and a nephew in Ecuador, and eleven great nephews and nieces there.

            Dr. Quiroz felt a great debt of gratitude to both the Kellogg foundation and his home country. He paid for subscriptions to medical journals and sent them to Ecuador; he frequently traveled to Ecuador to lead seminars and work with pathologists there to update the medical practice, for which, in 1994, the Ecuadorian Pathology Society honored him with a plaque for his service.