Everett L. Dargan, MD

Everett Lloyd Dargan, MD, passed away peacefully in hospice at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, DC, on April 1, 2025, following a protracted illness. He was 95. A native of Columbia, South Carolina, he led an inspiring life of remarkable achievement and grace as a scholar, surgeon, sportsman, gentleman, public servant, husband, father, mentor, and friend to many.

Born on July 30, 1929, in the Waverly neighborhood of Columbia to Annie Dargan and Thomas Dargan, Sr., Everett was the third son in a loving family of six. His older brothers, Thomas, Jr. and Julian, who preceded him in death, were his heroes. He spoke often of their military service and scholarly achievements. Like their parents, the boys, together with their beloved sister, Goldia, were raised in an era of extraordinary hardship, which instilled in them a foundation of faith, an ethic of hard work and service to others, and a deep commitment to education. The family were devoted members of Zion Baptist Church, where Dargan eventually served as a Trustee.

As a youth during the Great Depression, Dargan helped support his family by shining shoes, delivering newspapers, waiting table, and working summers on his uncles’ family farm. The future surgeon emerged with a fierce inner sense of resolve and deep compassion for those in need.

At age 15, sponsored by a Pepsi-Cola Company scholarship, Dargan entered Morehouse College in Atlanta.  He transferred to the University of Buffalo in New York and graduated with an honors B.A. in biology. He was admitted to Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, DC, where he was inducted into the Kappa Pi honors society and received his M.D. with high honors in 1953.

Dargan trained in general surgery at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, becoming chief resident of the surgical program. He interrupted his residency to serve in the US Air Force during the Korean War, rising to the rank of captain and commander of the 3910th USAF Hospital at RAF Base Mildenhall and RAF Base Lakenheath in the UK.

Following his service, he became associate professor of surgery at Einstein. During rare breaks, Dargan explored the island of Martha’s Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts, with friends from Morehouse and military service. Martha’s Vineyard became a favored haven to which Dargan would return throughout his life with his wife, children, grandchildren, and legions of family and friends. He took particular enjoyment from fishing at Wasque, as well as patiently teaching the children in his life how to fish, and convincing reluctant children to grow vegetable gardens.

Dargan returned to Columbia in 1961 to practice and to assist with his mother’s cancer treatment. Back in New York in 1964, Dargan, by then an attending surgeon at Lincoln Hospital, met Carol Poyner, a registered nurse and flight attendant, also working at Lincoln. They married in 1965, and later moved to Boston, where Dargan completed his surgical specialization and board certifications in thoracic surgery and vascular surgery at Boston University Medical Center. Returning to New York, he became director of surgery at Lincoln and later at Sydenham hospitals, where he also advocated for indigent patient care and quality medical care for veterans. In addition, he practiced surgery at the Hospital for Joint Diseases (now NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital), following a fellowship in special surgeries of the hand.

In 1978, Dargan returned to Columbia for the remainder of his career, first joining the private medical practice of Cyril Spann, MD, and then joining in partnership with Gerald A Wilson, MD, to form Midlands Surgical Associates, PA, a private surgical practice. His wife, Carol, worked alongside her husband and his partners as a nurse and office manager in the practice. In 1979, he joined the faculty of the University of South Carolina as an associate clinical professor of surgery, serving until his retirement from active practice in 2004. He remained dedicated to serving his fellow veterans with excellent medical care, practicing at Dorn Veterans Medical Center for decades. Together with Drs. Gerald and Dennis Wilson, Dargan was also a founding member of Physicians’ Health Plan of South Carolina, a network of providers committed to serving Medicaid recipients.

Dargan was the first African American surgeon to serve as chief of surgery and then chief of staff at Richland Memorial Hospital (now Prisma Health). A lifelong scholar, he was honored by the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society in 1996 for his distinguished career of leadership in medicine. He continued training fellow surgeons, presenting research findings, and delivering papers at medical conferences in Africa and throughout the United States, often at meetings of the American College of Surgeons, where he became a Fellow, and for the National Medical Association. After retirement from his surgical practice in 2004, Dargan worked for the South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners for nearly a decade.

In 2005, the University of South Carolina School of Medicine established a scholarship in Dargan’s name to support the education of physicians committed to practicing in underserved communities. Also in 2005, Gov. Mark Sanford recognized Dargan with the Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian honor for the State of South Carolina, and The Honorable James E. Clyburn delivered a Congressional tribute to Dargan in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2020, the University of South Carolina honored Dargan with the Dean’s Distinguished Service Award as a Friend of the School of Medicine. In 2021, he was honored as one of the University’s inaugural Luminary Leaders in Medicine and Science.

Wherever Dargan’s lengthy and distinguished medical career took him, he was renowned for his knowledgeable, professional, and kind relationships with his patients. He was a practitioner who also offered his patients holistic and nutritional advice, a lot of which he learned from his parents, both of whom grew up on rural farms, and particularly from his dietician mother.

Dargan was a devoted father and husband. He and his wife loved spending as much time as possible with their grandchildren. Together, they enjoyed dancing, gardening, visiting museum exhibitions, and spending free days on Martha’s Vineyard or in South Carolina’s Lowcountry on Hilton Head Island.

In a final act of service, Dargan donated his body to the Department of Anatomy at Howard University College of Medicine, to aid in the training of future medical professionals.

Dargan was preceded in death by his parents Annie and Thomas Dargan, Sr., and his two older brothers, Thomas, Jr. and Julian Dargan. In addition to his loving wife of nearly 60 years, Dargan is survived by two daughters and a son-in-law: Jennifer Dargan, Catherine Dargan and Peter Phelps; three grandchildren: Addison Dargan Phelps, Morgan Dargan Phelps, and Landon Dargan Phelps; his sister and brother-in-law: Goldia Dargan Hodgdon and John Hodgdon; nephews, nieces, cousins; sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law; as well as legions of patients and loved ones from his life of compassion, mentorship, generosity, and public service. He will be dearly missed.

Memorial services will take place in South Carolina on Saturday, June 14, 2025, 11:00 a.m.,  at Zion Baptist Church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that those who wish to honor his memory consider making a donation to the Everett L. Dargan, MD, Scholarship Fund at the University of South Carolina (https://donate.sc.edu/AG/sfp/gpln/everett-l-dargan-scholarship-endowment-fund), or simply encourage the young people in your life to dream big, work hard and help others.