DR. WILLIAM GRAHAM GUERRIERO
1938-2018
Dr. William Graham Guerriero was born in Monroe, Louisiana, on March 28, 1938 and passed away on February 14, 2018 at Methodist Hospital after suffering cardiac arrhythmia. Graham spent the majority of his childhood in Dallas, Texas, the son of Dr. William (Bill) Guerriero, and Alma (Green) Guerriero. When he was 12-years-old, his father asked him, “What are you going to do with your life? Would you like to be a doctor?” The young Guerriero, inspired by his father, immediately said, “Sure Dad,” and never looked back. In answering this question, Dr. Guerriero made a commitment, not only to his father but also to the greater community, and his intelligence and compassion, as well as his passion for medicine made him a respected physician at many hospitals and clinics throughout Texas.
Graham graduated from Highland Park High School to attend Stanford University and then Southwestern Medical School. In 1960, he married Margaret White, his high school sweetheart. Dr. Guerriero completed his service in the Navy in Corpus Christi and entered general surgery residency at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. While Dr. Guerriero wanted to pursue a residency in cardiovascular surgery, his father suggested that a career in urology might allow for a more balanced life. Dr. Guerriero thereafter took on the mantle of urologic medicine for 50 years. In 1962, he practiced under the Chairman of the Department of Urology, Dr. Russell Scott, later taking over Dr. Scott’s practice. Dr. Guerriero became Chief of the Department of Urology at Ben Taub in 1987. He was a member of the Staff of Baylor College of Medicine from 1972 until 1995, serving as a clinical professor until he subsequently retired in 2015.
In 1964, at the request of Dr. Scott and Dr. Michael DeBakey, Dr. Guerriero returned to Stanford to learn techniques to develop a machine to preserve kidneys for transplantation. These innovations were followed by thousands of hours of work to perfect kidney transplantation; efforts that continued and expanded as part of the development of a world-respected transplantation program with Dr. DeBakey, Dr. Gene Carlton, and Dr. George Noon. Aided by new drugs such as cyclosporin and organ sharing technology, this group of doctors, as a team, were able to save thousands of lives. Over the course of his career, Dr. Guerriero’s commitment to his chosen discipline of urology won him many honors and accolades, including the Cullen Award for Urologic Research in 1971. He went on to receive prestigious research awards from the American Urological Association and the American Medical Association. Throughout his life, Dr. Guerriero held key positions on local, state, and national medical boards, including LifeGift, the National Kidney Foundation, and the American Urological Association.
While Dr. Guerriero’s chief love was medicine, he found his personal peace in sailing, woodworking, reading, and enjoying his model train hobby. In 2002, he married Jeanelle Respondek. She was his best friend and, in the past few years, they have enjoyed spending time, along with their dogs, together at their Houston home and at Jeanelle’s family farm outside Cuero, Texas.
Dr. Guerriero leaves behind his wife, Jeanelle, whom he dearly loved; his three children and their spouses, Meg and Bob Nibbi, Michael and Hilairy Guerriero, and Layng and Karen Guerriero; and seven grandchildren, Trevor, Katrina, and Teagan Nibbi, Max and Reese Guerriero, and Will, Grace, and Quency Guerriero; his sisters Lucia Guerriero and Nancy Guerriero Solomon; and many thousands of patients who are thankful that Dr. William G. Guerriero took up a career in medicine as a urologic surgeon to make his father proud.
A viewing will be held on Thursday, February 22, 2018 from five until seven o’clock in the evening at BradshawCarter Memorial & Funeral Services, 1734 West Alabama Street in Houston, Texas. An additional viewing will be held on Friday, February 23, 2018 from three until four o’clock in the afternoon in the same location with a service following at four o’clock and a reception at five o’clock. The internment will take place on Saturday, February 24, 2018 outside Cuero, Texas. Graveside services will be under the direction of Galloway and Sons Funeral Home in Beeville, Texas.
Memorial gifts may be made to Mystic Seaport Museum, 75 Greenmanville Avenue, Mystic, CT 06355, Lone Star Flight Museum, 11551 Aerospace Avenue, Houston, Texas 77034, and Nora’s Home, 8300 El Rio Street, Houston, Texas 77054.