Obituaries

“Bud” was born April 1, 1934 to Felix and Antoinette Evangelist in Bloomfield, New Jersey.  He had one brother, Louis, who is deceased.  Dr. Evangelist graduated from Seton Hall Preparatory School, received his B.S. degree from Georgetown University and also graduated from The Georgetown School of Medicine.  He did his post medical degree training at Georgetown University Hospital and after eight years of training, became a cardio-thoracic surgeon.  He trained under the late Charles Hufnagel, M.D. who was a pioneer in cardio-thoracic surgery performing the first mechanical valve replacement in the U.S.

Dr. Evangelist joined the United States Air Force and became a Lieutenant Colonel, spending three years in Tachikawa, Japan.  After being honorably discharged, Dr. Evangelist and his wife, Paula, settled in Charlotte, N.C. in 1971.   He became chairman of the Department of Cardiac Surgery at what was then, Mercy Hospital where he performed the first coronary bypass in the area.  Always wanting to contribute to the field of cardio-vascular surgery, he served as President of the American Heart Association (1978-79 and again in 1985-86) and was cited for outstanding leadership by the AHA.  He was a member of the Mecklenburg County Medical Society, American College of Physicians and Surgeons and The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.  He loved the practice of medicine and kept a rigorous schedule of seeing patients throughout his career of thirty-nine years right up until he became too ill to continue.

Dr. Evangelist was a man of many hobbies.  He taught himself to play the piano and was an avid reader of history.  He became interested in computers and was the owner of The Computeroom Inc.

Dr. Evangelist is survived by his wife of 52 years, Paula Evangelist, and four sons: Michael Anthony, Gregory Paul, Steven Dillon and Mark Eric.  He will be dearly missed by his patients, colleagues, friends and most of all, his loving family. 

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Gabriel’s Catholic Church located at 3016 Providence Road, Charlotte NC 28211 on July 13 at 10:30am.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society in Dr. Evangelist’s name.