Merwyn Bagan could sum up his life’s work with a single bible verse: “Of them to whom much is given, much shall be required.”
His wife, Carol, said this value was “etched on his soul.”
“He said, ‘You know, you have to give it back,'” she recalled.
He spent decades doing exactly that. Merwyn was an accomplished neurosurgeon, a dedicated preservationist, an international humanitarian, a community volunteer, and a family man.
He always dressed to the nines, complete with a hat of choice for most outfits.
Merwyn, who passed away last week at the age of 90, was an integral member of the Concord community for over five decades. His absence will be keenly felt by those whose lives he touched.
Merwyn grew up in New Jersey and attended Dartmouth College as an undergraduate. He met his future wife on a blind date while she was a student at Skidmore. The pair struck up a friendship that lasted for over a decade, and they ultimately got married when they were both 29.
Moving to Concord in 1970 with his family, Merwyn, who had determined from a young age that he wanted to be a doctor, became the first neurosurgeon to practice in the city.
“He was very focused on his work, very serious about his work and his patients,” said Carol.
Being the only neurosurgeon in Concord for seven years wasn’t as glorious as it sounded. In fact, he was “busy beyond belief.”
“He would get up at six o’clock in the morning and go to work,” she said. “The first year we were in Concord, 1970, when there were pagers, he was the only neurosurgeon in the area. There was a speed limit — a suggestion — of 75 miles an hour, no helmets, no seatbelts. And every weekend was a disaster.”
Betty Hoadley met him when he treated her then-11-year-old son. His care for his patients was evident, she said.
“He knew what he had to do as far as the medical treatment, but at the same time, he was a father, and he understood that this was hell, but he had to do it. And that always just so impressed me,” Hoadley said.
As he built his practice, he remained on-call 24 hours a day, every day of the week for the entirety of that first year. His wife said she’d never seen anyone work harder. He also served as chief of surgery for Concord Hospital, as well as Medical Staff President and as a trustee. He further held the roles of President of the NH Medical Society, Overseer and Chairman of the Boston University School of Medicine Dean’s Advisory Board, Chairman of the NH Medical Malpractice Joint Underwriting Association, and a member of the Governor’s Advisory Council for Workmen’s Compensation.
In 1993, he became President of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. That same year, he retired from practicing neurosurgery. At his retirement party, he joked that it was time to step aside because he’d started to have a good bedside manner.
He wasn’t chatty, Carol explained. But that was part of what made him who he was.
Retirement, for Merwyn, didn’t mean slowing down. He founded the organization Healthsource NH. He spent time at the New Hampshire Historical Society digitizing Abbot-Downing records. He taught himself to type, enrolled in a Master of Public Health program at Boston University, and took the 5 a.m. bus to Boston to get to class.
It was there that he met the head of surgery at a hospital in Nepal, visiting BU on a public health exchange. The Bagans, who by then had three grown children, had intially dreamed of joining the Peace Corps in their late 50s. Then they had the chance to move to Nepal, where there was only one practicing neurosurgeon at the time.
For five years, the retired doctor instructed future neurosurgeons in Kathmandu. He created a neurosurgical ward and a training program at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. His work earned him a special commendation by the late King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev.
Around the turn of the century, he and Carol moved back home to Concord. He became the chair of the International Education in Neurological Surgery and, for over a decade, volunteered assisting in surgical units across the world. Together, as in all things, he and Carol worked to amass over $4 million in donated medical supplies, which they, in turn, donated to neurosurgical units in need around the globe.
He continued to visit Nepal each year until the pandemic. And he immersed himself in the Abbot-Downing Historical Society, where Concord Coaches were one of his passions. He worked enthusiastically to help preserve these vehicles from a past era.
The Concord City Auditorium became another home for his family. He and Carol joined The Friends of the Audi when the organization formed in the 1990s to help restore the historic performance venue.
At the Audi, Merwyn met Joe Andrews, who would grow to become one of his closest friends. The pair had numerous adventures together, including driving to New York with curtains from the stage and embarking on a cross-country road trip to move Merwyn’s son’s furniture to Seattle. Andrews described his friend as “the smartest guy I ever met.” He taught the neurosurgeon how to bass fish, and Merwyn taught Andrews about the limitless extent of human kindness.
“He was a super dear friend, but he had the biggest heart of anybody I know,” Andrews said, recalling a time when he refused to bill a family for the medical care of their child.
Beyond the care he extended to others, he reveled in laughter.
“He had an absolutely crazy sense of humor, and I used to tell him, ‘Merwyn, you got to reload your jokes, because you just shot them over all our heads,'” Andrews said.
He became beloved by many in the Audi community.
Tom Arnold first met him over three decades ago at a Friends of the Audi social event, where Arnold was serving ice cream. Merwyn came up to him and helped him scoop, and from then on, the two began running into each other. Arnold, who affectionately referred to him as “The Doctor,” remembers his friend for his ever-present humility.
“Even though he was highly distinguished, he’d just want to be Merwyn,” Arnold said.
He enjoyed participating in the Abbot Downing Historical Society alongside The Doctor and said he’ll miss his friend’s smile.
“You couldn’t help but love the man,” Arnold said.
As the head of the Friends of the Audi, David Murdo worked with both the Bagans since around the time when the organization began. When the Friends embarked on a renovation of the space, Merwyn, who served as the treasurer for a number of years, stepped up in any way needed.
“There was no job that he would not do,” Murdo said. “You would see him painting. You would see him scraping down the floors.”
Many of their friends credit him and Carol with the success of the Audi’s renovations. But to them, as with many things, it was a team effort along with the rest of the community.
The couple did, however, strive to do as much as they could together. They shared 61 years of marriage and 72 years of friendship.
“We were partners in life and in business and then in efforts and everything,” Carol said. “It gave you a lot to talk about. We talked through everything that we were doing, and we always helped each other.”
The former neurosurgeon knew of his Alzheimer’s diagnosis prior to the pandemic. The irony of the disease was not lost on anyone close to him. Still, he soldiered on, adapting his daily life to his changing abilities and continuing to spend time with those he loved.
He is survived by his wife, his three children and his seven grandchildren, and many others who loved him.
“He should just be remembered as a very smart and caring man, and it didn’t matter if you were a U.S. congressman or the custodian at City Hall. When he talked to you, you were the most important person he was talking to,” Andrews said.
In June, a celebration of his life will take place at the Concord City Auditorium. It will be an ice cream social, per his wishes.
Read more about Merwyn Bagan’s life here.