[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 98 (Monday, June 9, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E548]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO DR. EVERETT L. DARGAN, M.D.

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, June 9, 2025

  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Dr. Everett 
L. Dargan, an outstanding surgeon, a devoted husband and father, and an 
all-around good citizen of South Carolina. Dr. Dargan passed away on 
April 1, 2025, and leaves an enduring legacy of stewardship, 
excellence, and distinction. He led an inspiring life of remarkable 
achievement and grace as a scholar, surgeon, sportsman, public servant, 
mentor, and friend to many.
  Growing up in Columbia, South Carolina during the Great Depression, 
Dr. Dargan supported his family by shining shoes, delivering 
newspapers, waiting tables, and working summers on his uncles' family 
farm.
  At the age of 15, Dr. Dargan won a scholarship to Morehouse College 
in Atlanta. He later transferred to the University of Buffalo in 
upstate New York, where he earned a bachelor's degree in biology in 
1949. Dr. Dargan continued his education at Howard University's College 
of Medicine where he earned his M.D. and won First Prize in Medicine. 
After medical school, he completed his internship at Kings County 
Hospital Center in Brooklyn, New York, and was later named chief 
resident surgeon at the Bronx Municipal Hospital Center of the Albert 
Einstein College of Medicine in New York.
  Dr. Dargan interrupted his specialty training to serve in the United 
States Air Force as a captain and commander of the 3910th USAF Hospital 
in Mildenhall/Lakenheath, England, during the Korean War. Later, he 
would continue his commitment to providing quality medical care to 
military veterans through his service to the Dorn Veterans 
Administration Medical Center in Columbia, South Carolina.
  Dr. Dargan returned to New York and continued his commitment to 
academic medicine as a researcher and instructor through various 
appointments, including associate professor of surgery at the Albert 
Einstein College of Medicine, chief of surgery at Lincoln Hospital, and 
director of surgery at Sydenham Hospital. At Lincoln Hospital, he met 
his wife, a registered nurse and flight attendant at TWA, Carol Poyner. 
They married in 1965, and later moved to Boston, where Dr. Dargan 
completed his training in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery at Boston 
City Hospital, achieving the post of chief resident surgeon, and became 
a thoracic surgical instructor at Boston University Medical Center in 
Massachusetts.
  In keeping with his commitment to academic surgery as teacher, 
practitioner and researcher, he taught medical students and surgical 
residents for more than 12 years. Dr. Dargan was an advocate for 
indigent patient care and quality medical care for veterans.
  In 1978, Dr. Dargan returned to Columbia for the remainder of his 
career, first joining the private medical practice of Cyril Spann, 
M.D., and then joining in partnership with Gerald A Wilson, M.D., to 
form Midlands Surgical Associates, PA, a private surgical practice. He 
remained dedicated to serving his fellow veterans with excellent 
medical care, practicing at Dorn Veterans Medical Center for decades.
  Dr. 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. After retirement from his surgical practice in 
2004, Dr. Dargan worked for the South Carolina Board of Medical 
Examiners for nearly a decade. In 2020, Dr. Dargan received the Dean's 
Distinguished Service Award as a Friend of the University of South 
Carolina School of Medicine.
  In a final act of service, Dr. Dargan donated his body to the 
Department of Anatomy at Howard University College of Medicine, to aid 
in the training of future medical professionals.
  Throughout his career, he trained 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. He was a lifelong devoted member of Zion 
Baptist Church, where he served as a trustee.
  Dr. Dargan was renowned for his knowledgeable, professional, and kind 
relationships with his patients. He was a practitioner who 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.
  The Dargans have two daughters, Jennifer Dargan and Catherine Dargan 
Phelps; a son-in-law, Peter Phelps; and three grandchildren: Addison 
Dargan Phelps, Morgan Dargan Phelps, and Landon Dargan Phelps.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in celebrating 
the life and legacy of an incredible man and servant. Let us recognize 
Dr. Dargan's commitment to service, sacrifices for, and contribution to 
this great Nation.

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