Mauricio Jose Heilbron

Our beloved husband, father and grandfather Mauricio Jose Heilbron passed quietly and peacefully at home on November 13, 2018.He was born on October 11, 1937, in Barranquilla, Colombia, the first child for his parents, Mauricio and Margot Heilbron.His father sent him to the United States as a teenager, where he attended the Admiral Farragut Military Academy in St. Petersburg, Florida during his high school years. At the age of fifteen, he was offered a scholarship to the University of California, Berkeley to their General Nuclear Research Department, but his dream was to become a surgeon.He excelled in all areas of academics and athletics, graduating as Valedictorian of the Class of 1955, while lettering in football and baseball.He was accepted to Harvard, but chose to attend Johns Hopkins to begin his pre-medical studies. He then attended Tufts Medical School in Boston, and subsequently came to Southern California to complete his surgery residency at Harbor General Hospital (now Harbor-UCLA).Shortly thereafter, he joined the staff at St. Mary’s Hospital in Long Beach, as a general and vascular surgeon, later becoming one of their first trauma surgeons.He practiced for the next fifty years, taking care of thousands of patients. He also helped train hundreds of surgery residents. A legendary figure at St. Mary’s, “Big Mo” was known as the consummate surgeon, and a patient advocate of the highest order, often resorting to somewhat unconventional methods in order to assure the highest quality care for his patients.He was that rare physician loved by everyone from the nuns, to the nurses, to the administrators, to the other physicians, to the housekeeping staff…even to the volunteer ladies who worked in the gift shop.He married his wife, Lolita, also from Barranquilla, in 1963, and they started their family the following year.The family moved to the Bixby Hill area of Long Beach in 1973, where they reside to this day.He is survived by his wife, and his four children…son Mauricio Heilbron, daughter Anni Sees (Tony), daughter Vicki Bedell (Derek) and son Max Heilbron (Maura).The incomparable joys of his life were his grandchildren: Derek Bedell, Benicio Heilbron, Mia Bedell and Jackson Bedell.In the last years of his life, there was no better place on Earth than his backyard swimming pool, him surrounded by those four kids.Luyben Dilday Mortuary (562) 425-6401