Dr. Paul Baker Pritchard III

Paul Baker Pritchard III passed away on May 13, 2023. Paul was born May 7, 1943 in Augusta, GA as the first child to Paul Baker Pritchard, Jr., and Ruth Anne Tanner. His siblings include Richard Pritchard, Robert Pritchard, Joseph Pritchard, Anne Pritchard Davis & Thomas Pritchard. Paul married Rebecca Alice Crawford on June 14, 1969. They have three children - Nancy Anne Pritchard Jackson (Edward) of Mt Pleasant, SC, Paul Baker Pritchard IV (Nancie) of Raleigh, NC, and Matthew Crawford Pritchard of Atlanta, GA. Paul and Rebecca have four grandchildren - Ashley Anne Jackson, Rebecca Caroline Jackson, Annabelle Frances Pritchard and Julia Crawford Jackson.

Paul's family moved from Augusta to the small upstate South Carolina town of Ware Shoals when he was a young boy. Paul was an Eagle Scout, a member of the Order of the Arrow, played in the high school marching band, served as a class officer, was a photographer for the local & high school newspapers, and graduated from Ware Shoals High School (SC) in 1961.

In 1965, Paul graduated from Duke University with an undergraduate degree in Chemistry where he played in the Duke University Marching Band. He earned his M.D. with Honors from the Medical College of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston, SC in 1969. While studying there, he was selected for the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society and served as Vice President & Secretary of his medical school class.
He was an intern and resident at the University of Virginia Hospital from 1969 to 1973. After completing a Fellowship at Harvard, he became a Junior Faculty Member there until 1975. Paul and Rebecca then moved to Charleston, SC where he returned to MUSC as an Assistant Professor of Neurology. While still at MUSC, he began a private medical practice and then served as the Chief of Staff at the Veterans Administration Medical Center. He became an MUSC Professor of Neurology in 1992 and ultimately was bestowed the great honor of MUSC Professor Emeritus in 2023.

He was a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, the Director of Continuing Education of the American Epilepsy Society, Advisory Board of the Epilepsy Foundation of America, and the President of the South Carolina Neurological Association. He was board certified in Neurology & Psychiatry and wrote numerous medical papers, chapters, letters and abstracts. He was a guest speaker at neurology conventions around the world.

At MUSC, Paul served as Neurology Clerkship Director, Director for the Clinical Neurology Elective, Course Director Neurology Section, Scientific Basis of Medicine, Chair of the Residency Committee, Course Director for CME courses and the longest serving Residency Program Director. He proudly served on the MUSC College of Medicine Diversity Committee, the MUSC Admissions Committee, and the MUSC Arboretum Advisory Board. He was the first person from MUSC to receive the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award. In June of 2023, MUSC will dedicate the Dr. Paul B. Pritchard III Neurology Education Center in his honor.

He was the President of the Board of Directors at the Charleston Civic Ballet, a member of the Carolina Yacht Club, shared his love of neurology by speaking at many local schools, chaperoned high school student trips overseas and was a volunteer physician at the MUSC CARES Clinic in the Lowcountry.
He was a neurologist at MUSC for 52 years healing thousands of patients and teaching thousands of students and residents over the years. Rebecca Pritchard was the love of his life, and he loved his children, beautiful grandgirls, children-in-law, 4 brothers, sister, nieces and nephews, cousins and countless friends and family. Paul loved his Duke Blue Devils, gardening, photography, cooking and world travel, having visited 70 countries around the
world - many with his family of eleven.

The family wishes to thank all of the friends, family, and MUSC medical professionals who loved & cared for him. He will be deeply missed.

Friday, May 19th
Visitation: 5-7pm
J. Henry Stuhr
Mt. Pleasant Chapel
1494 Mathis Ferry Road
Mt Pleasant, SC 29464

Saturday, May 20th
Funeral Service: 2pm
Grace Church Cathedral
98 Wentworth St
Charleston, SC 29401

Interment: following funeral service
Mt Pleasant Memorial Gardens
1308 Mathis Ferry Road
Mt Pleasant, SC 29464

Reception: following Interment
J. Henry Stuhr
Mt. Pleasant Chapel
1494 Mathis Ferry Road
Mt Pleasant, SC 29464

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Grace Church Cathedral or the MUSC Foundation directed towards the Paul B. Pritchard, lll, MD Endowed Epilepsy Lectureship and Education Support Fund.