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Obituary for Jose Antonio (Tony) Aguilar

Jose Antonio (

Tony) Aguilar

December 17, 1926 – July 19, 2020

Jose Antonio (Tony) Aguilar passed away on Sunday, July 19th from a heart attack.

Tony was born in Brilliant, New Mexico on December 17, 1926 to Maria Concepcion Miranda and Florencio Aguilar. Tony was four years old when his father, who was a miner, died from “black lung.” His mother raised her children Joe, Esther, Tony and Johnny by opening her own Mexican restaurant in Raton, New Mexico. Tony went to LSU, spent a year in the Air Force, and supported himself through Colorado State University Medical School by boxing professionally. He attended McGill University Neurological Institute in Montreal, where he passed the boards in Neurosurgery. That ended his career in professional boxing.

Tony had a distinguished medical career in neurosurgery for many decades. He taught brain surgery at Stanford University Hospital for several years and spent many years at the Alexian Brothers Hospital in San Jose.

He has two children, Martha O’Neill and Carlos Aguilar. He has seven grandchildren – Morgan and Mary Jane O’Neill; Peter, Matthew and Emily Aguilar; and Andrew and Madeline Knauer.

Tony was not only extremely intelligent, but he was also an athlete. He skied, ran, bicycled and played his favorite sport tennis into his 90s. He boxed every day on his speed bag. He was also a dancer. He and his beloved wife Gerd Holmsen were regulars at the Park City HS Sweetheart gala where they danced the night away.

Life with Tony was never boring and he will be forever missed.


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