Museum docent Sol Barr remembers Sol Pargament

I first met Sol Pargament in the 1960's when I was new in practice.

He was selling medical supplies. For a short period his wife substituted as a secretary in my office when my regular help were away.

He had a small medical supply firm and I occasionally bought from him.

One day he showed up at my office then on Randolph Road in Rockville. I had had a shower built into the lavatory so that I could jog in from my home in Bethesda, shower and change before seeing patients. He suggested that I use this shower as a storage area for charts.

In the 1990's my wife and I visited the medical museum. He had a very distinctive gravely voice and while we were stepping into the exhibit area I knew it had to be him giving a tour even before I saw him.

Because of him and Dr. Ed Beeman I heard about being a docent at this museum. So when I retired I volunteered to be a docent here.

About two years ago I saw him at one of the docent meetings. He told me that his wife had died. He was very proud of his family. Two of his grandchildren had become doctors. This was a little surprising to me because I thought we were about the same age and my grandchildren were still in elementary, middle, and high school. He talked about coming back as a docent.

He never did return and in retrospect it may have been because of illness.

He is another person I knew from earlier days who is now gone and more and more I feel like a survivor.

Dr. Barr