Speakers at the interment ceremony included (left to right) students Amir Esmaeili, Wendell Dela Cruz, Caroline Haass, Sarah Franco and Marco Mavromaras, and President William L. Henrich, M.D., MACP.
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About 50 faculty, staff, students and family members came together April 19 for a solemn ceremony to honor those who donated their bodies to the UT Health Science Center San Antonio for educational purposes.

The interment ceremony began when pipers from San Antonio Pipe and Drum led those attending the ceremony to the small memorial park behind the Research Imaging Center on the Greehey Academic and Research Campus.

Ron Philo, Ph.D., director of the Willed Body Program, thanked those attending the ceremony and acknowledged the three pipers, including Major Harrell Southerland, and pipers Kathleen Swanson and Robert Chalk who both work in the Department of Cellular & Structural Biology with the Willed Body Program.

Christi Walter, chair of the Department of Cellular & Structural Biology, said, “The Willed Body Program is a wonderful program in which people from any walk of life can perform the ultimate act of humanity — giving of themselves for the betterment of others.”

No substitute for understanding the human body
President William L. Henrich, M.D., MACP, thanked the families for the gift of their loved one to help students better understand the human body. “The persons we honor today have made significant contributions to the progression of science, the study of diseases and the knowledge of our students and faculty members,” he said. “The invaluable training we receive from studying anatomy using the human body is truly a gift, and I am joined by our faculty and students here from our different schools to express this sentiment.”

Students express thanks
Then, five students representing the schools of Medicine and Health Professions and the Dental School expressed their thanks to family members present and explained how the gift enhanced their education. The students didn’t know the names of those they studied, but they knew them in an intimate way that no one else ever would, in preparation for becoming the doctors, dentists and health professionals of tomorrow.

Everyone at the ceremony had the opportunity to place a flower on the grave where the cremated remains were to be buried. Shown here is Omid Rahimi, Ph.D., adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Cellular and Structural Biology.

“The people we remember and celebrate today served as our mentors and provided us with the opportunity to learn about the human body in such a precious and illuminating way,” said Wendell Dela Cruz, a first-year dental student. “No amount of textbooks, lectures or diagrams can match the experience and impact that they shared with us at the very beginning of our careers. Our education would not have been possible without their selfless contribution, and for this we are eternally grateful.

“Their decision to become our silent mentors has caused a positive ripple effect, inspiring and teaching us, and in turn will allow us to better care for our patients,” Dela Cruz continued. “There is no doubt that we will become better health care professionals because of their compassionate gift.”

Other students speaking at the ceremony included medical student Marco Mavromaras, occupational therapy student Caroline Haass, physician assistant student Sarah Franco, and physical therapy students Tiffany Saenz and Amir Esmaeili.

“Students often become very attached to those they study, and reverence for the human body is emphasized throughout the anatomical education they receive at the Health Science Center,” Dr. Philo said after the ceremony.

As they finished their remarks, each student processed to where the cremated remains were to be buried and laid a flower on the grave, as did the other students, faculty members and family members at the end of the ceremony. The drone of the bagpipers playing “Amazing Grace” ended the ceremony.