Emil Alberto Anaya M.D. August 26, 1932 - May 3, 2024

Along with Emil's family and the medical community in Santa Clara County, we are deeply saddened by the loss of our father and physician on May 3, 2024. Emil Alberto Anaya M.D., of San Jose, California, who went to his reward with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As a pillar of his medical community and a loving and caring husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather, Emil’s tremendous impact in the medical community of Santa Clara County was felt by all who were fortunate enough to engage with him. Although his presence will be greatly missed, we can celebrate his life’s work and legacy with eternal gratitude.

Emil is survived by his loving wife Elizabeth (Libby). They enjoyed 64 years of happy marriage. He is also survived by daughters: Maria, Elizabeth (Liz), Janet, his son in-law Ron Souza, and Kathy; grandchildren: Brittany, Natalie, Nicholas, Ryan and Brianna;  great grandchildren: Elliot and Lloyd; and his sisters Gladys and Nuri, brother, Arnaldo Anaya DDS, and his niece Isabelle, who all live in Colombia.

Emil was born in Magangué, Colombia and met Elizabeth his wife in Cartagena, Colombia in May, 1956 and they married on November 9, 1959.

Emil graduated from University of Cartagena School of Medicine on February 20, 1962. In 1963 he applied to a residency program at Jefferson Hospital in Roanoke, Virginia, and was accepted. He emigrated to the US with his wife and 2 little girls, knowing very little English. He met the challenge with unmatched determination and finished his General Surgery residency in December,1967. By this time, Janet and Kathy had joined the family.

He then trained in Cancer and General Surgery at the Roswell Park Memorial Institute for Cancer in Buffalo, NY. While in Buffalo, Emil completed his fellowship in Cancer and General Surgery, followed by a fellowship in his specialty, Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, which he completed in December,1971 at the University of New York Medical School.

Emil came to this great country with a dream for himself and his family. Emil worked very hard but also loved to explore and spend time with his family. When Emil was offered the position of Chief of Thoracic and Vascular Surgery at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Livermore, California, Elizabeth packed the car immediately, jumping at the chance to leave freezing Buffalo for the warmer climate of California! They settled in Livermore in 1972, where his American dream of owning a home was realized.

Emil opened his 33-year medical practice, founded with Elizabeth, in 1982 in San Jose, California. Emil was a member of the Alexian Brothers Hospital medical staff and practiced at O’Connor and San Jose Hospitals and Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose, California as a Thoracic and Cardiovascular, Vascular, and Endovascular Surgeon.

In the hospital operating room at Alexian Brothers, now Regional Medical, he was a favorite of the staff for playing Colombian music, the songs blaring from a boom box as the medical team performed surgeries. We always wondered if his patients after surgery would suddenly become good Cumbia and Salsa dancers.

Emil enjoyed sports, particularly baseball, soccer and football. He bought a ski boat and taught water skiing to his girls and the neighborhood kids. He loved to snow ski and bought a place in Lake Tahoe where his daughters and his grandchildren learned to ski and snowboard. Above all else, he loved his family.

He also loved golfing, big screen TV’s, Costco runs, California wine, the Fox News Channel, cowboy westerns, doctor TV shows and discussing who makes the best arepas, buñuelos and sancocho.

Emil also loved Colombian Vallenato music, and you could often find him dancing when it was playing. He loved his adopted country, but his heart never truly left his hometown of Magangué in Colombia. During a visit to Magangué in 2007, the mayor presented him the ‘Keys to the City’, an honor he deeply cherished.

Emil’s medical accomplishments must be noted in summary, but his body of work in surgery deserves the utmost regard. His was a dedicated and decorated career that spanned over 60 years and helped countless patients and their families. Even after retirement, he was always eager to consult with colleagues on medical matters, and to help others who had medical questions and needed advice.

Emil died as he lived: strong, resilient, loving, humorous, laughing. No matter how difficult things got, he persevered. He was a great man, loved by many and he will be greatly missed.

Our family gives heartfelt thanks to the exceptional doctors and nurses at Renown Hospital Intensive Care Unit in Reno, Nevada. They provided much more than nursing care for Emil, providing a compassionate environment during his transition from this life.

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