In the course of his long career as a surgeon, Guillermo 'Bill' Aragón saved many lives, but that wasn’t enough for him. Dr. Aragón wanted to continue making a positive impact on the world after his retirement—and, if possible, even beyond his lifetime. This desire led him to endow the Aragón/Gonzalez-Gíustí Chair in Surgery at the University of Colorado.
The Aragón/Gonzalez-Gíustí Chair is named to honor multiple generations of Dr. Aragón’s family and that of his wife, Maria, who was at his side for 68 years until her death in 2014. The couple’s generous gift was recently celebrated at the 2015 donor-recognition dinner for the University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz.
The current Aragón/Gonzalez-Gíustí Chair for the Department of Surgery is Dr. Richard Schulick, a talented pancreatic surgeon who was recruited from Johns Hopkins in 2012. In three short years, with continuing support from Dr. Aragón, Dr. Schulick has built a pancreatic surgery program that has already touched many lives—including that of Tammi Ronzio, a Colorado woman who is featured in the video above. And so Dr. Aragón’s gift reaches yet another recipient.