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Carlos Salguero

Carlos Salguero, MD, 84, passed away Aug. 16, 2024, and will be remembered by the many people whose lives he touched during his over 50-year career as a child psychiatrist and a humanitarian.

Carlos came to the US, alone, from Guatemala at age 12, on a bus with a name tag and instructions around his neck. He knew no English but was being sent to live with an aunt in San Francisco in order to receive an education and have better options in his life than he could have had in his native country. In spite of homesickness, he eventually adapted to his new life here, learned English, and went on to attend college at the University of San Francisco. He returned to Guatemala for medical school, having no funds to attend medical school here, but was then accepted to a residency in Child Psychiatry at the University of Michigan, where he simultaneously attained a Master of Public Health. After that, he moved to New Haven to accept an assistant professorship at Yale Child Study Center. Throughout his career, he focused on the needs of the disadvantaged, particularly working with the Hispanic population in the New Haven area and at the Hill Health Center. Finally, he served as Medical Director at the Village for Families and Children in Hartford, where he continued to initiate new programs to deal with the many needs of children there. He received numerous awards for his work throughout his career.

After semi-retirement at age 79, he gave his full attention to Friends of Guatemala, an NGO originally founded by Guatemalan physicians who had settled in the U.S. but were dedicated to not abandoning the vast needs in their home country. He had already been active with the group for many years but now could work even more diligently on fundraising, etc., for projects such as putting a roof on a school, bringing hot water for the first time to the Obstetrics hospital, or building a simple Ronald McDonald type structure to house the Mayans who brought their family members to the hospital but had no means to stay anywhere but outside in the elements. He was very touched by a plaque that was put up in his honor at a Mayan school in the countryside, and he had always hoped to visit it. A photo of those children beside this plaque had to suffice, however.

Carlos is survived by his beloved and dedicated wife of 36 years, Susan Moore, a Jungian psychoanalyst, and his five children: Sophia McGee (and her husband Kyle), grandson Martin and granddaughter Sydney; Dr. Rachel Kowalsky (and husband Marc), granddaughter Ayla and grandson Jacob; David Salguero (and wife Alison), granddaughter Stella; Carlos Salguero Jr. (And partner Monica); and Marina Salguero (and husband Seth A. Klein)

His values and interests live on in the careers and lives of his children. In addition, he was fortunate to have a large and loving family still residing in Guatemala, whom he cherished visiting whenever possible. As a resident of Guilford for many years, he never tired of commenting on how fortunate he was to live in such a beautiful area and to appreciate the home that was his, things that he never could have anticipated in the early years of his life. Finally, and perhaps above all, Carlos has been consistently remembered by those who knew him as an exceptionally Kind person, always interested in the welfare of others and ceaselessly seeking to improve their lives through the work to which he dedicated himself.

Donations in his honor may be made via the Friends of Guatemala website, which can be accessed at the following link: friendsofguatemalainc.org (donation button on home screen).