Juan Reyes, Valley physician, dies at 67

Dr. Juan Reyes, a member of the UCSF Fresno Medical Education Program for 27 years, died June 16. He was 67.

Dr. Reyes was born in Bogotá, Colombia. At age 10, his older sister Alicia was by his side when he was told he only had six months to live due to a health condition. But he outlived that diagnosis, and when he was 18, he was invited by his aunt to study in the United States.

He enrolled in San Jose State University, graduated from UCSF medical school in 1978 and moved to Fresno with his wife, Adua Butticci, and their two children — Andrée and Antony. He embarked on a career as an OB-GYN.

After completing his residency in 1982, Dr. Reyes was recruited to join the UCSF faculty, where he served until 2009, finishing his tenure as associate clinical professor. He also served as the outpatient care director for many years, and was director of the training program.

After departing UCSF, Dr. Reyes helped run clinics in Parlier and Earlimart.

With a love of medicine and a desire to help the less fortunate, Dr. Reyes took various trips to the rural areas of Mexico to treat patients at free medical clinics.

His love of music led him to build his own guitars, and his woodworking resulted in finely crafted furniture for his home.

In the early 2000s, with his second wife Amalia Rioja, Dr. Reyes began to experience more profound effects of the condition that was discovered at age 10. For the next decade, he battled with his health.

In Fresno he became involved with the Mokichi Okada Association, a philosphy based on the teachings of Mokichi Okada, a Japanese spiritual leader.

This story was originally published June 25, 2015 at 4:39 PM with the headline "Juan Reyes, Valley physician, dies at 67."