March 11, 2026
My kind, gentle, and brilliant father, Dr. Miguel Lennhoff, died two years ago on this date. This tribute is long overdue, but my broken heart has only now allowed me to put these words together.
In these most difficult and precarious times, I wish those in leadership positions could be more like my father, who was a deeply caring and gentle person who sought healing, not destruction and devastation.
My father was a physician – in the tradition of the practitioner-researcher model (often known as the physician-scientist). He was always growing and learning, always fascinated by science and nature, and the human condition.
My father always taught us that, above all else, “your health is your wealth.”
My father, Dr. Miguel Lennhoff, believed this so completely, and practiced this belief through his work as a physician – he worked as a nephrologist (kidney specialist) in Mexico, and then a psychiatrist here in the U.S. once we immigrated from Mexico. He reminded me and my brothers (and our friends) that our real wealth in this life was not money and possessions, but our health.
Both of my parents abhorred injustice in all of its forms, and ardently believed in and supported human rights, and economic and environmental justice. These values were very clearly expressed in our family home.
My parents also supported immigrants, and understood the need and desire of immigrants to leave their countries of origin in the search for safety, security, and a better life for their families. They were immigrants themselves, and my brothers and I immigrated with our parents to the U.S. from Mexico in the 1970s.
Our beloved mother, Marja-Liisa Lennhoff Eskelinen, died on July 4, 2020. My father’s heartbreak and sorrow were profound, and his health began to decline. I am so incredibly fortunate to be able to work for this wonderful organization, which allowed me to travel frequently to Texas to help care for my father and work remotely. Both of my brothers and I pulled together to care for our father in his home. I am the only one of us three who could work remotely, so I often provided the in-home 24/7 care that was increasingly needed in the last few months, weeks, and days of my father’s life.
As many of you have experienced, being a caregiver for an elderly parent can be the most intense and exhausting thing that we are ever called on to do. I would, of course, do it all over again in a heartbeat. It was the honor of my life to be able to care for my father. Toward the end, I slept on a cot in my father’s room, and my father would wake up at random times at night and we would sit and talk. He would gently tell me to go back to sleep, but I didn’t want to miss out on a moment with him while he was alert. Every moment was a gift to me and I cherish the time that we got to spend together.
In case you care to read it, below is an excerpt from my father’s obituary. It is lengthy, but my father had an interesting and beautiful life, and I want to share this with CCHCC’s supporters because I believe that we share many of the same values that guided my father’s life, both personally and professionally.
I thank you for your support of our organization and the work that we do. My father was proud of me and the work we do at CCHCC. He thought every community around the country should have an organization like CCHCC. However, CCHCC is truly unique, and there is no other organization like ours in the country. Thank you for your support!
