Louie Thomas Hargett, 85, died on July 12, 2018, following a lengthy fight with cancer. He lived his life in conformity with a line from one of his favorite Emerson poems, Success, “To laugh often and love much…“ These traits were evidenced by his warm sense of humor and the love and devotion he gave to his wife, children and grandchildren. His love for mankind was apparent by the generous giving of his time and contributions to various educational institutions and charitable organizations.
Dr. Hargett was born on October 19, 1932, in Wilmington, North Carolina to Louie Fulton Hargett and Catherine Cordelia Hargett. His father was a sharecropper in Onslow County. Because of his family’s economic hardship, Dr. Hargett developed an exemplary work ethic and was determined to improve his station in life. Dr. Hargett excelled in his post-secondary education and earned his B.A. from Bridgewater College in 1953, his M.S. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1958, where he was elected to membership in Phi Sigma, the National Honorary Society in the Biological Sciences. Dr. Hargett continued his studies at Oregon State University in 1962 where he received his Ph.D in Entomology. While at Oregon State, Dr. Hargett helped develop a system to apply insecticide for controlling horn flies in dairy cattle. This system became an industry standard.
In addition, he completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School in 1976.
Between his graduation from Bridgewater College and his admission to Virginia Tech, Dr. Hargett served in the United States Army from 1953-1955.
Dr. Hargett had a long and illustrious career as a research and development scientist, working for Geigy Chemical Corporation—Ag Chemical Division, Rhodia, Inc., and Sandoz. Throughout his career, Dr. Hargett was instrumental in developing significant insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and pesticides. Over the span of his career the Hargetts lived in various locations including West Nyack, New York; Basel, Switzerland; Lincolnshire, Illinois; and San Carlos, California. Dr. Hargett retired in 1993 to his hometown, Wilmington, North Carolina.
Dr. Hargett was a devout Christian and studied the Bible throughout his life. He enjoyed many leisure interests, including traveling the world, golfing and writing poetry. He was a passionate reader on many topics and especially liked to follow the current trends in politics and science.
Dr. Hargett was most proud of his family. He is survived by his beloved wife of 64 years, Anna Catherine Hazel Hargett; and their three children, Cheryl Anne Hargett (Johnson) and husband, Mark of Richland, Washington; Robert Thomas Hargett and wife, Melissa of Raleigh, North Carolina, Catherine Lynn Hargett (Showalter) and husband Patrick of Ashburn, Virginia; grandchildren Kevin Kordahl Johnson, Carter Thomas Johnson, Justin Thomas Hargett, Travis Leland Hargett, Danika Lynn Showalter, Carissa Anne Showalter, and Rylee Catherine Showalter. Dr. Hargett was preceded in death by his brother, John Hargett.
In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to Transitions LifeCare https://transitionslifecare.org/donate/
The family wishes to give special thanks to Zuwena Mukandekezi and Fran Norris who provided such loving care to Dr. and Mrs. Hargett over the last months.
Visitation will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 14, 2018, at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, 1701 E. Millbrook Road, Raleigh, North Carolina, with a memorial service to follow at 11:00 a.m.
