Desamparados Salido, MD

November 19, 1927 ~ January 2, 2026

Holmes, NY

Dr. Desamparados Salido, of the Putnam Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, was 98 years old when she passed away on 1/2/2026.  She formerly lived in Newburgh, NY.

She was born in Ibajay, Philippines, on November 19, 1927 and was a survivor of World War II.  She was an entrepreneur as a teenager, who helped feed her family of 12 by selling burlap sacks to the rice farmers (the money would be used to buy food for the family).  She taught herself how to knit, sew and crochet, becoming a highly skilled and creative needleworker, seamstress and crafter.   During the war, she witnessed senseless, horrific killings, extreme poverty, and unthinkable violence.   These experiences evoked a profound visceral sense of grief and empathy, which could have traumatized her for the rest of her life, however, they inspired her to help others, to leverage combat and trauma, and to fuel a new healing-focused career in medicine.

She faced several challenges in her life.  Her first early challenge was escaping the politics and social pettiness of a small town who could not comprehend nor embrace her intelligence, and high-achieving desires to accomplish her goals in medicine.   With persistence, extreme fortitude, unwavering faith and sharp focus as her backbone, she over-shadowed this major obstacle and attended an internationally accredited university in the Philippines, University of Santo Tomas (UST). After earning her MD degree, she married Carlos Tuang, who at the time, was serving in the US Navy.  Together they moved to Anchorage, Alaska, where Carlos was stationed.  Her first child, Don Anthony was born in 1956.   Afterward, they moved to Brooklyn NY, for her residency at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.  During her residency she gave birth to two more children, Pamela Mary, 1957 and Grace Dawn, 1959.

Following her residency, the family moved to upstate NY, where she took over a retiring radiologist's practice. This was her own private practice which she ran on a focused schedule.    She also worked at two other hospitals during this time.  She headed the radiology department and was on the Board of Directors for Cuba Memorial Hospital, (Cuba, NY). The other hospital was the Gowanda State Hospital (Gowanda, NY), where she served as the on-staff radiologist.   She was highly driven, disciplined and relentlessly driven, during this time, which placed a significant strain on her marriage to Carlos.  His gambling debts forced her into bankruptcy as she was the sole bread winner of the family. They divorced in 1979.  Also, during this time, there were a lot of political undercurrents (with the new administration) in the hospital (Cuba Memorial), and she faced opposition from men who would not accept a non-white Asian woman on the Board of Directors, let alone the head of radiology.  She ultimately was forced out of her positions and lost that battle, but she did not lose the war; as in World War II, her devout faith helped pull her through this very dark chapter of her life, which was yet another profound challenge.   She offered all of her pain and suffering to Jesus Christ, prayed the rosary daily, attended Mass regularly, participated in the sacraments, read the Novena daily, and placed others before herself.  Remarkably, she even offered prayers for those who had wronged her.  Turning to her faith for strength, and guidance, she ventured into the unknown by applying for an intensely competitive role as a physician in Saudi Arabia, a male dominated country.  She was accepted and although their beliefs were very different from hers, she adapted to their very strict culture and rules.  There was zero tolerance for alcohol, stealing, adultery, drugs, etc.  Saudi Arabia had (has) strict laws based in Islamic Sharia.  As a devout Catholic, she maintained her faith privately by cultivating her daily prayer habits, with consistent prayers and devotion.   And by trusting God completely.

Despite being a devout Catholic, Dr. Salido held herself to strict personal rules, following their Islamic code of ethics while living her own personal faith in quiet conviction.   Her Saudi counterparts recognized her collaborative, hard-working, respectful nature and resilience in adopting their culture, and she was invited to stay at the hospital complex for a total of 8 years.  This job enabled her to pay off the debt from her husband's gambling and emerge from bankruptcy.  The Saudi's (as she called them), recognized these attributes and they became complimentary partners, focusing on the greater good of the patients at the hospital.

Words to describe Dr. Salido:  Devout Catholic, Survivor, Resilient, Intelligent, Eccentric, Focused, Determined, Confident, Disciplined, Talented, Headstrong, Strict, Forgiving, Thoughtful and Kind.

She will be truly missed.

A visitation will be held on Saturday, March 21st, 2026, at 9:00 AM at Brooks Funeral Home. A Funeral Home service will be held at 9:20 AM at Brooks Funeral Home. Burial will take place at 10:00 AM at St. Francis Cemetery, New Windsor.