Dr. Sylvia Villareal: Farewell to a family favorite

Farewell to a family favoriteDR.V BY DENA MILLER

Farwell to Dr. VFarewell to a family favorite

nathan burton/taos news

‘When

I moved to Taos It was a sad day for many in Taos when

I fell in love pediatrician Dr. Sylvia Villarreal decided to with the retire at the beginning of this year. community, For the beloved Dr. V., however, it’s a longand the overdue second attempt at retiring and — as she families I’ve worked spoke with The Taos News on what happened to be her 72nd birthday with always — this time, she says it will stick. made Her first retirement in the late 1990s my job fun.’ was from the field of medical academia in San Francisco and at the urging of both Loretta Ortiz y Pino (the late chief medical officer for Holy Cross Hospital) and Charles Anderson to move to Taos. The latter had established the Taos Clinic for Children and Youth and Dr. V., after a trial of working in the practice, relocated and ultimately became the clinic’s sole owner in 2000.

With over two decades at the helm while seeing her young patients, “The timing feels right for me and I’m happy to finally be at this place in my life. It is admittedly hard to leave in the middle of an ongoing pandemic,” she reflected, but noted the practice is in good hands. TCCY has been acquired by Taos Professional Services, a subsidiary of Holy Cross Medical Center, so there is no interruption of care or service to families.

The former Robert Wood Johnson Scholar and Kellogg Fellow attended Stanford (CA) School of Medicine and completed her internship and residencies at the University of Colorado, Denver. “My background was always in academics, which was exhausting,” she recalled. “When I moved to Taos I fell in love with the community, and the families I’ve worked with always made my job fun,” a welcome change for her.

The biggest strength she brought to Taos, Dr. V. believes, is, “I’m a good diagnostician. I consider myself a ‘kid mechanic,’” she laughed, alluding to her father’s Air Force career as a mechanic’s instructor. “I grew up in a blue collar family and knew from a young age that using your hands was important.”

“And it’s what I always told my patients. I’d tell them to learn a trade and learn it well. Learn how to become a good rancher, for example, and make a good living here. Or, maybe leave for a while and see what else is out there in the world. But you can always count on your hands.”

It’s just one example of how Dr. V. truly looked after the whole sum of each youngster in her care, which explains the deep connections she constructed with them over the years.

Now it’s time to focus on her passion for travel and fly fishing. “I’ve always been a wanderer, beginning with my family moving from Hawaii to California to canal zone Panama for my dad’s service career, through to the various research projects I’ve been a part of in places like Patagonia and South America, so I’m looking forward to it.”

“And I love fly fishing. I mean, I really, really love fly fishing. I’ll still be here in Taos for the warm weather, but some tropical fishing sounds pretty good, too.”

The community is full of good wishes for Dr. Villarreal and a few lucky ones may even run into her by the river, fishing pole in hand.