H. Leonardo Aguila

Hector Leonardo Aguila, 63, of West Hartford, CT, passed on March 30, 2020. Leonardo (or Leo), as he was known to friends, was born on November 11, 1956, in Santiago, Chile, the oldest child of Arnoldo Aguila Vega and Sofia Silvia Garay Vidal. His childhood was spent in Chile and he graduated with a degree in Biochemistry from the Universidad de Concepción. His journey to the US in 1983 was a leap of faith when, as newlyweds, he and his wife Daniza uprooted their lives so that he could start a Ph.D in Cell Biology (Immunology focus) at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. It was in New York where they started a family together, eventually making the cross-country trip with a toddler so that he could complete postdoctoral training at Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA. After 11 years in California, in 1997, he earned an Associate Professor position in the University of Connecticut Graduate School, Department of Immunology. After a beautifully remembered trip across the country, his family settled in West Hartford, CT. A fundamental truth of his life is that as long as he had his wife and children near (physically or in spirit), then that was all he needed to be happy. He wanted his family to share his experiences and to learn about the world with him. And even as times grew difficult, all he wanted was for his family to be well and near him. This enduring love is treasured in this moment. Leo was passionate about science, his research, and intellectual curiosity. He always sought to impart his own joy and wonder at the world to those he surrounded himself with. While he was a true scientist at heart, he was also an advocate and connoisseur of the arts. He loved poetry and all types of writing, especially the words of Pablo Neruda and Walt Whitman, and the house was always filled with music from his extensive collection. His small joys included laughter, a bottle of good red wine, and a flavorful seafood meal. He had an appreciation of nature and a deep love of the ocean, born of spending extensive time on the coast growing up. Many family vacations to the beach contained long, 5am walks along the shore and he always returned hours later with stories of all he saw along the way. His love of learning extended to a love of travel and in recent years he had spent time in Rome, Madrid, Croatia, and Mexico City with his wife. Above all, he will be remembered for his boisterous spirit, the quirkiness that he embraced and celebrated, and the quiet stubbornness he held onto through his life. He is survived by his wife, Daniza Mandich, and their three children, Carolina of Boston, MA; Nicolas of Manchester, NH; and Gabriela and her husband Michael Conway of Alexandria, VA. He is also survived by his mother, Sofia Garay, his siblings, Eugenia and Rodrigo, and numerous nieces and nephews; all from Chile. Memorial services will be private due to the current world health crisis, but his family deeply appreciates the love and care they have received from family, friends, and community in this time. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Leonardo’s memory to the Saint Francis Foundation (to support cancer care) or to the Smithsonian Institution.