Dr. Samuel O. Black, Jr. SPARTANBURG, SC – Samuel Orr Black, Jr., age 81, died Monday, March 18, 2002, after a prolonged illness at his Spartanburg home. Dr. Sam, Jr., as he was affectionately called by patients and colleagues, was the grandson of Dr. Hugh Ratchford and Mary Snoddy Black, the son of Dr. Samuel Orr and Sallie Marvil Black, and the nephew of Dr. Hugh Snoddy Black. He was born on June 9, 1920. The three elder Doctors Black founded the Mary Black Memorial Hospital in 1925 as the first private, not-for-profit hospital in South Carolina. After finishing medical training in 1946, Dr. Sam, Jr. returned home to join his father and uncle in private medical practice. This also was the start of his lifelong devotion to the promotion and development of The Mary Black Hospital. A hospital trustee throughout his career, until the hospital sold in 1996, Dr. Black initiated the establishment of a medical staff, the expansion of the board of trustees, and the introduction of numerous technological advances. When the original Mary Black Hospital on Main Street became too small, he selected the site for a new hospital and supervised construction and the move in 1968 to the hospital’s current campus on Skylyn Drive. In 1985, the trustees of the hospital created the Mary Black Foundation, primarily as a fund-raising organization to support the hospital; and Dr. Black was a founding member of the Foundation board. When the hospital was sold to Quorum Health Group, Inc. in 1996, the Foundation separated its association with the hospital and became an independent grantmaking organization with the mission of improving the health and wellness of the people and communities of Spartanburg County. All proceeds from the sale of the hospital were given to the Mary Black Foundation, making it the largest in the community. In 1997, the Foundation established the Dr. Sam O. Black, Jr., Health Promotion Award, to honor Dr. Black’s lifework to improve the health of the community. It is given annually to recognize and encourage volunteerism and leadership at charitable health-related organizations in Spartanburg County. Dr. Black was still a trustee of the Foundation at his death. After attending Spartanburg City Schools, Dr. Black attended the Citadel and was graduated from Wofford College and TheUniversity of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He did his internship and surgical residency at Philadelphia General Hospital, then returned home where he was a highly-regarded general surgeon until his retirement in 1991.
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