Fred Heros, DDS

With just the clothes on his back, Dr. Fred C. Heros fled Cuba at the age of 9 with his parents and two brothers. “All we had was $5. We left everything up to God,” says Heros. “After we left Cuba, my dad went from being in medicine to pumping gas, so we would have food on the table and a roof over our heads,” says Heros, who never had to exalt action figures, “because my dad has always been my hero.”

Leaving behind addresses in Miami and the Bahamas, Heros completed his high school education in Memphis, the place he proudly calls home with his wife, Gayle, their three adult daughters, and three grandchildren.

Never having to look too far for inspiration — his father was a pediatrician; one of his brothers is a leading neurosurgeon, while the other is a mechanical engineer — Heros knew that he wanted to “touch lives like my father did,” he says. “So I knew early on that I wanted to study medicine.”

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from Memphis State University, he went on to receive his doctor of dental science from the University of Tennessee’s College of Dentistry, and served in the U.S. Army National Guard, retiring in 1976 as first lieutenant. More than three decades later, his dental practice on Covington Pike in Memphis continues to thrive. Mentoring dozens of dentistry students and seeing 30-plus patients a day is all in a day’s work for Heros, who defines his dentistry journey “as a passion. Every day I get to help someone; there is just nothing better.”

When he isn’t at his practice, Heros is often still working. He is part of a network of volunteer dentists, with such organizations as Dental Angels and the Church Health Center, who perform emergency dental surgeries on adults and children who cannot afford the care. Reading more like a novel than a resume, Heros’ involvement in the community includes past presidential appointments of the Tennessee Dental Association and the Memphis Dental Society; various leadership roles on the UT College of Dentistry Alumni Board of Trustees and the Mid-South Dental Congress; and serving on the board of directors of the St. Jude Liberty Bowl.

Retirement isn’t in the vocabulary of Heros, who has more than a few medals, including the 2010 U.S. Open Champion Pro-Am for his fiercely competitive skills as a racquetball player.