HURTADO, USN RETIRED, Felix P.

Vistoso Funeral Home, Oro Valley, Arizona In Memory of Dr. Felix Hurtado October 7, 1924 - July 26, 2012 Dr. Felix P. Hurtado, USN Retired, 87, of Tucson died July 26, 2012. He was born to Angelica Hurtado and Jose Perez Rubi in Havana, Cuba. Dr. Felix, as he was called, graduated from Havana Medical School in Cuba in 1946 and obtained his Residency in Pediatrics in 1950. He obtained his Master's in Public Health from the University of CA at Berkeley in 1969. He married Dr. Elisa Hurtado in 1943 and lived and practiced medicine together in Holguin, Cuba before leaving the island as refugees in 1961 and landing in Miami. Dr. Felix was a pediatrician and hospital director for the Public Health Indian Health Service serving in Tahlequah, OK, Gallup, NM, Sells and Tucson. Dr. Felix was the first Cuban refugee to be accepted into the Indian Health Service and loved working with Native Americans. He served in Panama and El Salvador under the International Health Service and returned to Tucson to serve as Hospital Director in Sells followed by Chief Medical Officer of the Tucson area. His passion for children was immense as was his love for the military. He was most proud of receiving the highest Public Health Service Award from Asst. Surgeon General Rhodes, the Distinguished Service Medal in 1984. A loving and caring father and husband, Dr. Felix is survived by his daughter Elisa Kinder and son-in-law, Joe Kinder of Tucson. The family requests donations be made to the Humane Society of Arizona as he was a dog lover and rescued several dogs during his lifetime. A private ceremony will be held by the family to celebrate his accomplishments and life. The family invites friends to visit Vistoso Funeral Home's website to leave their memories at www.vistosofh.com