Aureliano Adolfo Urrutia, MD November 3, 1934 - February 14, 2024
Dr. Aureliano Adolfo “Bud” Urrutia died on February 14, 2024, at the age of 89, at his home in San Antonio, Texas. He was born at Santa Rosa Hospital in San Antonio on November 3, 1934, to Ana Maria Treviño Villarreal and Dr. Adolfo Urrutia Fernandez. Bud’s mother, Ana Maria, was the daughter of Maria Villarreal and attorney Miguel Treviño of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico; his father, Adolfo, was the son of Luz Fernandez and the surgeon Dr. Aureliano Urrutia of Mexico, DF, Mexico.
Bud attended Cambridge School from 1st through 10th grade until the opening of Alamo Heights High School. A good student, he learned to play golf with his father and was on the firstever Alamo Heights High School golf team, which won the 1950 Texas UIL Golf Championship. He attended undergraduate and medical school at Tulane University in New Orleans from 1952 to 1959 where he excelled in the field of surgery and was a member of Kappa
Sigma fraternity and Phi Chi Medical Fraternity. At Tulane, Bud met his wife, artist Judith Hawn of Dallas, and the couple had two daughters, Elise and Adrienne.
Bud served as a U.S. Army surgeon in the early 1960s. He was stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, during the Cuban Missile Crisis and was integral in setting up an emergency army hospital at Opalocka Airbase in Florida in the days leading up to the standoff. Following the service, he did his surgical internship at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. The family moved to Dallas in 1964 where Bud did his surgical residency at Parkland Hospital.
In 1965, the Urrutias returned to San Antonio where Bud became the third generation of Urrutia physicians. He joined the practice of Surgical Associates as the partner of Drs. Albert W. Hartman, William L. Sammis, and William Johnston Hills, and became a career vascular surgeon, known for his impeccable technique clear bedside manner. Bud had a lifetime passion for surgery and truly loved the practice of medicine.
During his lengthy career Bud practiced at the Nix, Methodist, and Santa Rosa Hospitals in downtown San Antonio, and often traveled south to Jourdanton, Pleasanton, and Floresville to provide much-needed medical and surgical service to those small communities. Bud was known as an excellent teacher and mentor at Brooke Army Medical Center. He spoke his first language, Spanish, to many of his patients every day. Many a nurse has remarked at Dr. Urrutia’s intensity in the operating room, but he was highly regarded for his professionalism and decorum among them, and he greatly appreciated their important roles.
Bud always made time for his friends, especially over games of golf, backgammon, and cards. His competitive expertise at these games was wellknown. He was adept at forming close friendships; kept in contact with many childhood friends, college and medical school classmates; and made time for new friends, neighbors, and colleagues throughout his life. His friends are too numerous to be named, but were greatly loved by him.
Bud was actively engaged in the lives of his two daughters, Elise and Adrienne, who have many fond memories of special times with him, especially family meals at the dinner table, and adventurous travels to the Texas coast, Colorado, Guadalajara, Mexico City, the Michaelis ranch in northern Mexico, New York, and Hawaii. In 1984, Bud married Elizabeth “Cissy” Wilhelmy, becoming a stepfather to her two children Liza and Katy Atkinson. Following Cissy’s death in 2017, in 2018, Bud reconnected with longtime friend Gwen Rhea Cowden, and the two enjoyed love and companionship to the end.
Bud was fascinated with the life of his namesake, Dr. Aureliano Urrutia, who immigrated from Mexico to San Antonio in 1914.
He created a slideshow presentation on the topic, which he gave to local community groups and clubs. Throughout his later adult life, he shared his interest with his daughter, Elise. Today, she carries on the tradition by researching and writing about the illustrious history of the Urrutia family. Both daughters cherished time spent with their Dad throughout his life and during his final months as he reminisced and considered his past. Bud Urrutia was predeceased by his sister Olga Urrutia Bruno, and is survived by his daughters Anne Elise Urrutia Schlesinger (Mark), and Adrienne Urrutia Wisenberg (Sol), grandchildren Benjamin Ezra Barenblat and Noa Luz Barenblat, and stepdaughters Liza Atkinson and Katy Atkinson. His family and all who loved him wish him mucha luz en su camino, and hope that for everyone whose lives he touched his memory will kindle a great spark of life and health in their hearts and minds.
The family is thankful to Bud’s caregivers during hospice, including Veronica Tijerina, RN, and Mercedes Calderon, CNA, both of Trinity Hospice, for their attentive care and professionalism, and to all the health care workers who helped us. The Urrutia family will hold a private memorial celebration of Bud Urrutia’s life at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please honor him with a contribution to the charitable organization of your choice.