Blanca Rosa Anton

Blanca R. Antón, M.D., age 90, beloved wife, "Mami," and "Bía," of Atlanta died peacefully in her sleep on December 27, 2023. She was the fifth child and only girl of Celestino Menéndez and Blanca Castañedo. Born in Cuba, she attended Baldor Academy and graduated with a double major in Science and Humanities-the first person to achieve this at Baldor. She attended Medical School at the University of Havana, and graduated No. 9 in a class of 660 students. She left Cuba for political reasons in 1961 for a new start in this country.

She completed two residencies at Emory University, in Psychiatry and Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Her medical positions included: Unit Director of Psychiatric Unit II at Central State Hospital; Unit Director of the Child and Adolescent Unit at Georgia Regional Hospital; Unit Director of the Children's Outpatient Psychiatric Services at Grady Hospital; and, founder and Director of the first private child and adolescent psychiatric unit in Georgia. She was in private practice for 31 years until her retirement in 2001.

She was a practicing Catholic who loved her religion, her family, and her patients, many of whom became her personal friends after her retirement. Her husband, Manuel P. Antón, M.D., preceded her in death in 2020, after 61 years of marriage. She is survived by her daughter, Annie I. Antón, Ph.D. (Peter Swire) and her son Manuel P. Antón III, M.D. (Annette Antón), her four grandchildren, Maria Teresa Antón, M.D. (Jose Vilaró, M.D.), Manuel P. Antón IV, M.D., Roberto X. Antón, and Ana Maria Antón (Diego Cuzcó), and five great-grandchildren, Ana Sofía Vilaró, Juan Pablo Vilaró, David Enrique Vilaró, Felipe Ignacio Vilaró, and Camilla Lucía Cuzcó. She is also survived by her nieces Hilda Uribe, Dolores Moore, and Patricia Gomez and their families.

The rosary, officiated by Fr. John Kieran, will be Tuesday 1/16 (6:30 PM) at AS Turner & Sons 2773 N. Decatur Rd., Decatur, GA. The Funeral Mass, officiated by Msgr. Richard J. Lopez is Wednesday, 1/17 (10 AM) at the Cathedral of Christ the King, 2699 Peachtree Rd. NE, Atlanta, GA. The inurnment will follow at Ignatius House, 6700 Riverside Dr. NW, Atlanta, GA 30328.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate a donation made in Dr. Antón's honor to the Ignatius House Jesuit Retreat Center at 6700 Riverside Dr. NW, Atlanta, GA 30328..