Concord, NH – Merwyn Bagan, Concord’s first neurosurgeon, passed away at the Birches on February 27 after a long ironic siege of Alzheimer’s Disease. Born in 1936 to Frank and Shirley Bagan of Millville, NJ, he had multiple overlapping careers and interests during his long life.
He graduated from Dartmouth College and Boston University School of Medicine and completed his neurosurgical training at the NIH, Queen Square, London, and The Johns Hopkins Hospital. He was a Lt. Commander in the US Public Health Service, serving at the NIH and Walter Reed Hospitals.
Moving to Concord in 1970, he established his Surgical Neurology P.A. practice by being on call every day for the first year. By 1993 SNPA had expanded to Manchester with four neurosurgeons, and he retired for the first time. During these 23 years, he had served Concord Hospital as Chief of Surgery, Medical Staff President, and Trustee and the NH Medical Society as President. In 1993 he was elected President of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.
He served Boston University as an Overseer and Chairman of the BU School of Medicine Dean’s Advisory Board. He was a 14-year chairman of the NH Medical Malpractice Joint Underwriting Association and served on the Governor’s Advisory Council for Workmen’s Compensation.
In 1985 he was a founder of Healthsource New Hampshire, Inc. serving as President and Chairman from 1985 to 1993 and Chairman of Healthsource Inc. from 1985 to 1997.
In 1993, aiming to expand his work beyond New Hampshire, he returned to Boston University where he completed an MPH at the Center for International Health. While there, he met a visiting Nepalese surgeon who told him Nepal had 23 million people and one neurosurgeon. He asked Merwyn to establish a neurosurgical training program at the only teaching hospital in the country. Six weeks later, in January 1995, Merwyn and his wife, Carol, moved to Kathmandu and began their volunteer work at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, establishing both a neurosurgical ward and training program. Merwyn was honored as Subrabal Gorkha Dakshina Bahu by the late King Birendra. By 2000, with two fully qualified Nepalese neurosurgeons and a strong program firmly in place, Merwyn retired again, returning to Nepal annually until Covid in 2020.
During their five years at TUTH, volunteers from the Foundation for International Education in Neurological Surgery (FIENS) spelled the Bagans’ short trips home. In return, Merwyn served as Chairman of FIENS from 2004-2013, volunteering to assist surgical units in Southeast Asia, South Central Africa, and Latin America. The Bagans also collected over four million dollars of donated surgical supplies, distributing them to neurosurgical units in the developing world.
His work received wide recognition, including BU’s Distinguished Alumnus Award, AANS Humanitarian Award, Congress of Neurological Surgeons Distinguished Service Award, and Alpha Omega Alpha.
A love of classical music brought him over the years to the boards of the Granite State Symphony Orchestra and the Concord Community Concert Association. For 35 years, beginning with the 1991 preservation of the theatre, he was a Friend of the Concord City Auditorium, serving in any role requested from President to Pitch In.
His interest in historical preservation and the Concord Coach spurred his participation in the Abbot-Downing Historical Society’s efforts to develop a permanent showcase of this leading factor in Concord’s place in national and Industrial history.
He was a loyal and caring friend who cherished the time spent fishing and traveling and working with old pals like Joe Andrews, Wayne Hall, Sr., and Fr. Norman Simoneau.
He is survived by dearly beloveds: Carol Joseph Bagan, his friend of 72 and wife and partner of 61 years; his children Seth (Amelie), Karin (Elliott), and Eric (Amy); his grandchildren Achim, Gabriel, and Agnes-Elisabeth, Diego and Rafael, and Tania and Hugo; his sister Bryna Bettigole (Bruce); his sister-in-law Gail Zierk (Thomas), and their families.
And now, the final retirement. A Celebration of Life will be held in early June. Merwyn always spoke of its being an ice cream social – his favorite City Auditorium event. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations to The Abbot-Downing Historical Society, PO Box 4077, Concord NH 03302 or The Friends of The Audi, PO Box 652, Concord 03302.
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