Anita V. Figueredo (August 24, 1916 – February 19, 2010) was an American surgeon and philanthropist, the first woman medical doctor from Costa Rica and the first woman surgeon to practice in San Diego, California. She was posthumously inducted into the San Diego Women's Hall of Fame in 2015.
Early life and education Figueredo was born in Costa Rica, the daughter of Roberto Figueredo, a well-known Cuban-born soccer player. She was raised by her mother, Sarita Villegas, in Spanish Harlem after they immigrated in 1921.Marcia Manna, "Anita Figueredo" San Diego Magazine (November 9, 2009). There were no medical schools in Costa Rica, so Figueredo and her mother moved to New York. She enrolled at Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart at age 15 with a full scholarship, and graduated in 1936. She was one of four women admitted to Long Island Medical College in her year."Anita Figueredo" Esprit de Coeur (Fall 2010): 5.
Anita Figueredo was one of the first two women surgical residents at Memorial Hospital for Cancer in New York, during World War II when many male medical students were serving in the military. She was the first woman from Costa Rica to earn a medical degree.Brent Eastman, "In Memory of San Diego Icon Dr. Anita Figueredo" Scripps Health (February 23, 2010).
Career While she was a young doctor on staff at Memorial in New York, Figueredo was one of the Pan-American women delegates to formulate a declaration of human rights for the Paris Treaty process in 1946. Figueredo presented the group's resolutions for approval, which was unanimous."Justice Stressed in Peace Formula" New York Times (March 23, 1946): 6.
Figueredo spent most of her career as a surgical oncologist at Scripps Memorial Hospital in southern California. She was the first woman surgeon in San Diego. She was known for standing on a stool to perform surgery, as she was under five feet in height.Pablo J. Sáinz, "Las latinas son "una inspiración" para la comunidad/Latinas are "an Inspiration" for the Community" La Prensa San Diego (March 13, 2015): 1.
As a philanthropist, Figueredo co-founded Friends of the Poor in 1982,Blanca Gonzalez, "Anita Figueredo: Medical Pioneer Helped Needy" San Diego Union-Tribune (February 26, 2010). a charity to bring food, clothing and medical care to underserved places, initially in Baja California;"For Tijuana's Poor, at Last, Charity at Home" New York Times (June 19, 1988). the organization later maintained projects on three continents. In the 1950s she began a long and close association with Mother Teresa. She was also a founding board member of the San Diego College for Women,"Mother Teresa to Speak at USD on May 31" Chula Vista Star News (May 19, 1988): 19. via Newspapers.com and a backer of the San Diego Women's Bank.Janet Lowe, "Woman's Bank Draw's Interest" Odessa American (May 16, 1976): 41. via Newspapers.com
In 1954, Figueredo was honored by Pope Pius XII with a papal medal, the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, for her service work. Figueredo was a trustee of the La Jolla Town Council from 1956 to 1968.City of San Diego Historical Resources Board, Report No. HRB-12-077 (November 15, 2012). In 2009 she won Scripps Memorial Hospital's Lifetime Achievement Award."Scripps Honors Anita Figueredo" La Jolla Light (February 18, 2009). A biography of Figueredo, written by her oldest daughter Sarita Eastman, was published in 2009.Sarita Eastman, A Trail of Light: The Very Full Life of Dr. Anita Figueredo (iUniverse 2013).
Personal life Anita Figueredo married fellow doctor William J. Doyle in 1942. They were married 58 years until she was widowed in 1999. They had nine children, six of whom survived her."Pioneering Female Surgeon Anita Figueredo Dies at 93" La Jolla Light (February 24, 2010).
Anita Figueredo died in 2010, at age 93, at home in La Jolla, California, after a cerebral hemorrhage.Thomas H. Maugh II, "Dr. Anita Figueredo Dies at 93; First Female Surgeon in San Diego" Los Angeles Times (March 8, 2010). She was posthumously inducted into the San Diego Women's Hall of Fame in 2015."Anita Figueredo, Trailblazer" 2015 inductee, San Diego Women's Hall of Fame.
References
External links Friends of the Poor US , official website. The Office of War Information (1944), "The personal and professional life of Dr. Anita Figueredo, a woman surgeon at St. Elizabeth's Hospital" (a set of nine photographs)