Thomas
Thomas "Tom" Hargest
d. July 24, 2014
Thomas Sewell 'Tom' Hargest III, 89, of Savannah, Georgia and husband of Neva Lee Kennon Hargest, died Thursday morning, July 24, 2014, at Memorial University Medical Center. He was a retired professor, Department of Surgery (Clinical Engineering), Medical University of South Carolina.
He was born January 3, 1925, to the late William Milton Hargest, Jr. and the late Edna Parker Hargest of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.?? He attended the public schools of Harrisburg, graduating from William Penn High School.?? He served in the United States Coast Guard from 1942 to 1945 as a Radar Technician aboard the USS Harveson, Destroyer Escort 316, in the American, European and Pacific theaters.?? In 1945 he married Miriam C. MacFarlane.
Graduating from Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania in 1950, he moved to the southwest where he was involved in oil and gas exploration in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas.?? The fall in prices of oil and gas forced him to look elsewhere for employment.?? In 1962 he met Dr. Curtis P. Artz who was to become his mentor in the field of medicine.?? In 1963 he joined Dr. Artz as a biomedical technician at the University of Texas Medical Branch, John Sealy Hospital, in Galveston, Texas, working with burn patients.?? He assisted in planning the first Shriner's Burn Institute.?? In 1969 Dr. Artz was selected as Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the now Medical University of South Carolina and Hargest moved there with him.?? In 1970, for his work in the new field of Clinical Engineering (working in the hospital with doctors to improve patient care) he was presented Clinical Engineering Certificate #001 by the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation.?? In 1978 the Ambassador to Thailand and the Chief of the Royal Thai Air Force requested Hargest to assist in planning the 800 bed Kum Klao Hospital in Bangkok, which was being built to honor the King's 60th birthday.?? After approval by the MUSC Board of Trustees, Hargest worked part time in Bangkok and part time at MUSC until the completion and dedication of the hospital in 1985.
The development of the air fluidized hospital beds, the Clinitron and Elexis, for burns and pressure ulcers, and his work on the Bariatric Bed for patients weighing up to 800 pounds, brought international recognition and numerous honors.?? Among them, The Juarde St. Emelion from France for his work in Patient Care and the Kum Klao Plaque from the King of Thailand for his work on the Kum Klao Hospital.?? Mr. Hargest authored or co-authored more than one hundred published medical papers and was awarded more than seventy patents.?? He retired from MUSC in 1985 as a full Professor in the Department of Surgery and Director of the Division of Clinical Engineering.?? He then served as Consultant to the Asian Development Bank in structuring medical equipment maintenance programs for the governments of Burma, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Pau Pau, New Guinea.
Pretty good for a BA in Geology!
Mr. Hargest was an associate member of James Island Presbyterian Church, Charleston, South Carolina, where he was a past elder.?? He was a member of Wilmington Island United Methodist Church of Savannah.
In addition to his first wife, Miriam, he was preceded in death by his parents, and his sister, Kingsley.
Surviving are his wife of 10 years, Neva Kennon Hargest; his four children, Judith Ann Anagnos, Scott Thomas Hargest, Margaret Phyllis Romano and William Milton Hargest; eight grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; five step-children, Carol Gray, Eddie Bridges, Ned Bridges, Cheri Schumacher and 'Tag' Bridges; ten step-grandchildren and three step-great-grandchildren.
The funeral service will be held at 3 o\'clock Saturday afternoon, August 2, 2014, at Wilmington Island United Methodist Church with visitation at the church beginning at 2 o'clock.
A memorial service will be held at 3 o'clock Sunday afternoon, August 3, 2014, at James Island Presbyterian Church, in Charleston, South Carolina.
In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to James Island Presbyterian Church ' 1632 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, South Carolina 39412, or to Wilmington Island United Methodist Church for the New Building Fund ' 195 Wilmington Island Road, Savannah, Georgia?? 31410.
He was born January 3, 1925, to the late William Milton Hargest, Jr. and the late Edna Parker Hargest of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.?? He attended the public schools of Harrisburg, graduating from William Penn High School.?? He served in the United States Coast Guard from 1942 to 1945 as a Radar Technician aboard the USS Harveson, Destroyer Escort 316, in the American, European and Pacific theaters.?? In 1945 he married Miriam C. MacFarlane.
Graduating from Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania in 1950, he moved to the southwest where he was involved in oil and gas exploration in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas.?? The fall in prices of oil and gas forced him to look elsewhere for employment.?? In 1962 he met Dr. Curtis P. Artz who was to become his mentor in the field of medicine.?? In 1963 he joined Dr. Artz as a biomedical technician at the University of Texas Medical Branch, John Sealy Hospital, in Galveston, Texas, working with burn patients.?? He assisted in planning the first Shriner's Burn Institute.?? In 1969 Dr. Artz was selected as Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the now Medical University of South Carolina and Hargest moved there with him.?? In 1970, for his work in the new field of Clinical Engineering (working in the hospital with doctors to improve patient care) he was presented Clinical Engineering Certificate #001 by the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation.?? In 1978 the Ambassador to Thailand and the Chief of the Royal Thai Air Force requested Hargest to assist in planning the 800 bed Kum Klao Hospital in Bangkok, which was being built to honor the King's 60th birthday.?? After approval by the MUSC Board of Trustees, Hargest worked part time in Bangkok and part time at MUSC until the completion and dedication of the hospital in 1985.
The development of the air fluidized hospital beds, the Clinitron and Elexis, for burns and pressure ulcers, and his work on the Bariatric Bed for patients weighing up to 800 pounds, brought international recognition and numerous honors.?? Among them, The Juarde St. Emelion from France for his work in Patient Care and the Kum Klao Plaque from the King of Thailand for his work on the Kum Klao Hospital.?? Mr. Hargest authored or co-authored more than one hundred published medical papers and was awarded more than seventy patents.?? He retired from MUSC in 1985 as a full Professor in the Department of Surgery and Director of the Division of Clinical Engineering.?? He then served as Consultant to the Asian Development Bank in structuring medical equipment maintenance programs for the governments of Burma, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Pau Pau, New Guinea.
Pretty good for a BA in Geology!
Mr. Hargest was an associate member of James Island Presbyterian Church, Charleston, South Carolina, where he was a past elder.?? He was a member of Wilmington Island United Methodist Church of Savannah.
In addition to his first wife, Miriam, he was preceded in death by his parents, and his sister, Kingsley.
Surviving are his wife of 10 years, Neva Kennon Hargest; his four children, Judith Ann Anagnos, Scott Thomas Hargest, Margaret Phyllis Romano and William Milton Hargest; eight grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; five step-children, Carol Gray, Eddie Bridges, Ned Bridges, Cheri Schumacher and 'Tag' Bridges; ten step-grandchildren and three step-great-grandchildren.
The funeral service will be held at 3 o\'clock Saturday afternoon, August 2, 2014, at Wilmington Island United Methodist Church with visitation at the church beginning at 2 o'clock.
A memorial service will be held at 3 o'clock Sunday afternoon, August 3, 2014, at James Island Presbyterian Church, in Charleston, South Carolina.
In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to James Island Presbyterian Church ' 1632 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, South Carolina 39412, or to Wilmington Island United Methodist Church for the New Building Fund ' 195 Wilmington Island Road, Savannah, Georgia?? 31410.
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