Dr. Alcides Cuello, 85, died September 30^th, 2018 in Richland, WA with his family by his side.

Alcides was born in Fundacion, Colombia on January 27^th, 1933.  His family knew he was intellectually gifted and did everything they could to send him to the best boarding schools in northern Colombia, then to the United States for his post-high school education.

He arrived in Miami in 1952 with only $200 and very little understanding of English, but a keen intelligence and a passion to study medicine.  Alcides met his wife, Elisabeth, in Kirksville, Missouri where they both were in college.  They married in 1955, which started a family voyage that would take them around the world many times over, leaving deep roots.  Alcides studied pre-med in Kirksville; completed medical school in Monterrey, Mexico; interned in Toledo, Ohio and then completed his residency in Wichita, Kansas before choosing Richland in 1967 to begin his medical career as an OB/GYN.

After working at the Richland Clinic for a couple of years, Alcides partnered with Dr. Barnes, delivering thousands of babies and caring for many women in the Tri-Cities over the course of his career.  Alcides was the first obstetrician in the Tri-Cities to be trained to use ultrasound.  He spent many nights and weekends shuttling between Kadlec and his home and practice, answering calls from his patients about to give birth.  He practiced for more than 30 years until his retirement in the early 2000s.

Alcides will be remembered as a loving husband of 63 years to Elisabeth, and dad to his children Al, Cindy (Keith and grandchildren Samantha, Rachel, and Spencer), Rob (Diane and grandchildren Bryce and Cianna), Eric (Svetlana and granddaughter Sasha) and Ingrid (David and granddaughters Aisha, Ayla and Bronte).  He is also survived by three great grandchildren.

He was an amazing person, husband, father and grandfather and will be missed by all of us.  We are thankful for the great memories, especially of the many vacations and conversations about anything related to medicine, science, nature, and life.  His vast knowledge of the world was noted by all who knew him.  His love of reading was only surpassed by his love of his family.  Even when his eyesight waned in his later years, he still spent time reading and keeping up with the latest from the world of science.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Alcides’s memory to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.