Dr. James Carlisle Hewitt

Dr. James Carlisle Hewitt, 91, passed away September 16, 2024, at NHC Healthcare in Murrells Inlet, SC.

He was born May 9, 1933, in Orangeburg, SC a son of the late Bennie Richard Hewitt Sr. and Lottie Crider Hewitt.  He was predeceased by his daughter, Karen Miller Hewitt; his brother, Bennie Richard Hewitt, Jr.; and his beloved wife Harriet Ann Whisenhunt Hewitt.

Carlisle graduated from Orangeburg High School in 1951. He entered Presbyterian College that fall on a football scholarship which was converted to an academic scholarship when a chemistry professor with a keen eye saw promise in a possible medical career for Carlisle. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from PC in three years with a B.S. and was also a member of the PKA fraternity.

There is no telling the story of Carlisle’s life without mentioning his late wife, Harriet Ann.  They met while lifeguarding on the Edisto River in Orangeburg, SC.  He often liked to tell the story of how he lost her in a bet. The story goes that he and another lifeguard decided they were going to flip a coin to see who would ask Harriet Ann out on a date. Carlisle lost the toss, so he went to tell Harriet Ann that the other lifeguard would take her on a date that night, and he would take her out the following night.  Apparently, Harriet Ann didn’t cotton to being told who she was going to date, and told him to relay to the other lifeguard that if he wanted to ask her out that he should come over and ask her himself.  So, Carlisle ended up taking her out that night instead. They were married 62 years.

Harriet and Carlisle married in 1955, just as he entered the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.  They lived in a walk-up apartment off the Battery, and got their first dog, a collie named Rebel. Harriet taught school in North Charleston while Carlisle studied.  They moved to Tampa, Florida for two years for his internship (where Harriet Ann also taught), and then returned to Charleston for his residency.  While Carlisle was offered a position in radiology in Charleston, he and Harriet opted to return to Tampa and for him to join the radiology staff at Tampa General Hospital.  They resided in Tampa the next 15 years, where Carlisle was ultimately also the Chief of Staff of the hospital.

During his time in Florida, Carlisle also served five years as a physician in the US Army Reserve, being discharged as a Major.

In 1978, they decided that Tampa had gotten too big for them, and Carlisle and Harriet Ann relocated the family to Myrtle Beach. He began practicing at the old Ocean View Memorial Hospital, one of only two radiologists.  Over the next 25 years -- until he retired in 2003 -- Carlisle and his subsequent partners built Carolina Radiology into a substantial operation, providing radiological services not only at Grand Strand Hospital, but also at Conway Hospital, Loris Hospital, and building out services at South Strand and Seacoast.  Carlisle was also on the Board of Trustees of Grand Strand for several terms.

Carlisle was academically inclined and a voracious studier, always seeking professional improvement.  He was genuinely excited about the scientific and technological advancements happening in the field of radiology, having secured the first CatScan and MRI at Grand Strand and ensuring that the radiology department was always fit for purpose to embrace advancements and meet the growing needs of the Grand Strand. Most nights he would be sent to bed by Harriet Ann, having nodded off in the den with the latest medical journal on his chest.

He was on dozens of boards, foundations and medical societies – too many to list here – but a few include the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, the Radiological Society, several county and state medical associations, the American Board of Radiology, and the College of Nuclear Physicians.

A lasting and life-changing endeavor that Carlisle championed was the creation of the Radiological Technology degree program at Horry-Georgetown Technical College in 1990. He and his partners were always struggling to attract enough rad techs in sufficient number to keep up with the growing needs of the Grand Strand.  Creating the program at Horry-Georgetown Tech was a game-changer. Today, if you have need of a CatScan, X-ray or MRI at any area hospital, just ask the rad tech where they got their degree – you’ll likely often find the answer is that they graduated from this very program, which continues to graduate 25 students a year.

In 2003, Harriet Ann and Carlisle retired to a gentleman’s farm in Brooksville, Florida.  This was mostly to indulge Harriet Ann’s love of horses. During these years, Carlisle could be found picking up thousands of sticks in the paddocks, monitoring bonfires, bush-hogging the horse trails, returning wayward cows to the farm next door, mucking stalls, and fence-chatting with neighbors who became good friends.  In 2018, he decided to return to Myrtle Beach after having lost Harriet Ann in 2016.  He was really never the same after he lost her.

Carlisle was humble, kind, put people at ease, mentored so many, and was always genuinely himself, without pretense.  His life of service touched thousands of lives.  He will be missed by so many.  He and Harriet Ann played tennis together – having been mixed doubles state champions; they waterskied together; they snow skied together; and they traveled the world together – once on a chartered Concorde on a 30-day round-the-world trip of a lifetime. Hopefully they are now together doing those things together again – surrounded by the many, many beloved animals they cared for in life.
 

Survivors include daughter Kelly Ann Hewitt (Myrtle Beach), son James (Jay) C. Hewitt, Jr. (New York City), granddaughter Kristin Nicole Hewitt Brown (Myrtle Beach), and grandson Daniel Kaiser Gibbs (Myrtle Beach).

Services will be 1:00 PM, Tuesday, September 24, 2024, at First Presbyterian Church of Myrtle Beach with Dr. John Brearley officiating. Following the service, the family will hold a Celebration of Life at the Dunes Golf and Beach Club.

Graveside services will be 2:00 PM Wednesday, September 25, 2025 at 2:00 PM at Memorial Park Cemetery in Orangeburg, SC.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to K9 Partners for Patriots in Carlisle's name online at www.K9PartnersforPatriots.com. 

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