Mario Henao was born on March 12, 1931 and passed away, surrounded by his family, at his home in
Brownsville, Texas on October 12, 2016. He was born in Medellin, Colombia, the youngest of 4 boys and
2 girls to Cristobal and Carmen Emelia Henao. His father was a gifted craftsman, artist and musician that
actively discouraged his sons from pursuing such occupations, but instead, inspired them to reach for
higher ambitions and professions that would liberate them from their existing poverty. Manifesting the
tenacity and drive that would be his trademark for the rest of his life, Mario immersed himself in his
studies at the Jesuit Catholic School in Medellin, where he excelled in all of his subjects, but especially
History (of which he would later enjoy quizzing his children and grandchildren about throughout the rest of
his life). In between his school work, he was an avid soccer player and also a lover of languages and
learned (seemingly overnight) English, German, Latin and French – just for fun. Following his boyhood
success at home in Medellin, Mario was ultimately awarded a scholarship to an institution of higher
education in Bogota widely known as one of the best universities in Latin America, The Universidad
Nacional de Colombia. There, Mario would work tirelessly, always seeming to ‘find a way’ to succeed
despite adversity; His resourcefulness allowed him to stretch his finances to persevere in the capitol city,
where he would borrow medical texts and journals from his more well-off classmates, analyze and
summarize the material, and then tutor his classmates as payment – as he rose to the top of the class in
the process. He completed his MD with highest marks and was accepted into the University’s prestigious
Dermatology fellowship, where he developed a reputation as one of the most gifted members of the
department. This success propelled him to the United States, where he was awarded an extremely
competitive fellowship in Dermatopathology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. After his
success there, he returned to Bogota to assume the position of Director of Dermatology at the University.
Upon his arrival from the airport that very day, as fate would have it, Mario would meet his future bride –
Carmen Lucia Restrepo – and would begin the love of a lifetime. They were married in May of 1965 and
were an inseparable force from then-on and would soon see their dreams of making a life in the United
States a reality. In March of 1968, Mario and Carmen Lucia made the audacious journey to Illinois; their
only cargo – two young sons (Chris and Mario), two cardboard boxes (containing all of their earthly
belongings), fearless courage and boundless optimism. After a series of obstacle-ridden adventures (and
the addition of two more sons, Steve and Jose Guillermo), Mario’s dauntlessness led him across the
United States in search of his goal – to establish a medical practice of his own. In 1976, he would move
the family to Brownsville and establish his center and life’s work, serving the region as an expert in
Dermatology (most notably skin cancer, a prevalent problem he encountered frequently in his patients in
the beautiful, sunny escape of the Rio Grande Valley). Over the course of the next 38 years, Mario would
grow the practice into a successful regional service, expanding into a second clinic in Weslaco to serve
his patients that often traveled across the Valley to see him. His commitment to excellence and evidencebased
medicine had a tremendous impact on the health of the people of South Texas for almost four
decades. Mario retired in 2015.
Throughout his life he was blessed with astounding intelligence and inexhaustible optimism.
He was a tremendous role model to his family. All of his four children and seven grandchildren felt truly
loved and accepted by him. This love is indelible and will be with them for the rest of their lives. All who
knew Mario saw him as a truly unique individual; A quick wit that could expound on virtually any topic
and was never afraid to speak his mind.
He will be missed by all.
Dr Mario Henao is survived by his wife of 51 years, Carmen Lucia Henao and their children:
son Chris and wife Sandra of San Antonio, and three grandchildren – Chris Alex, Benjamin and Noah;
son Mario and wife Rosa of Houston, and one grandson – Daniel;
son Steve and wife Norma Lorraine of Albuquerque, and two grandchildren – Daliana and Nicholas;
son Jose Guillermo of Brownsville, and one granddaughter – Emily Jade.
Should friends desire, contributions in tribute may be sent to:
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research
www.michaeljfox.org/Donate_Now