Dr. John Routt Reigart, II Obituary

Dr. John Routt Reigart, II

Mt. Pleasant - Dr. John Routt Reigart, II, 83, of Mt. Pleasant, SC died peacefully on Monday, March 30, 2026, at Medical University of South Carolina surrounded by family. Born January 28, 1943, in Boston, MA, he was the son of the late John Moulton Reigart and Dorothy Chandler Reigart.

A 1960 graduate of Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in Maryland, Routt attended Dartmouth College, graduating in 1964 with a degree in Mathematics. He went on to study medicine at Harvard University, graduating in 1967, and completed a pediatric residency at Boston Children's Hospital and an internal medicine residency at Mass General in Boston. After a brief stint in the United States Navy, he settled in Charleston and retired as Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics at MUSC, having taught and practiced medicine for more than 50 years.

A life-long advocate for children's health, Routt was a pediatric expert in toxicology, lead poisoning, and pesticides. He continuously served on a committee, board, or chaired several medical organizations and health related causes he was drawn to. Through the years, he had been Chair of the EPA's Children's Health Protection Advisory Committee, a member of EPA/USDA/Tolerance Reassessment Advisory Committee, the FIFRA Science Advisory Panel, and the CDC Chair for the Childhood Lead Poisoning Advisory Committee. He was a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and was quietly proud to have received the Career Achievement Award from the South Carolina Chapter. At the time of his death, he was Chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Committee on Drugs and serving on the Board of Beyond Pesticides, an organization for a world free of toxic pesticides. He was co-editor of the EPA's Recognition and Management of Pesticide Poisonings manual.

The son of a Navy Captain, Routt was a skilled and accomplished sailor in his own right and never more at home than when he was on the water and at the helm. He was a member of the Dartmouth College crew team as Coxswain where he sat in the back of the boat and yelled at people. As Commodore of both the Charleston Ocean Racing Association (CORA) and Hobcaw Yacht Club, he applied his passion for sailing. Active in competitive racing, he often attended Key West Race Week once placing in the Melges 24 fleet. Later in life, he enjoyed a more casual pace by sailing charters in the British Virgin Islands.

Routt was also an avid snow skier dating back to his days at Dartmouth and passed on his love of the sport to his family and friends. Those who were fortunate enough to spend time with him skiing out west during his annual ski trip now share his love of the sport, and always watched in awe as he made an especially challenging run look like an afternoon stroll.

Survivors include his wife of 42 years, Suzanne Mattar Reigart of Mt. Pleasant, SC; children John Routt Reigart, III of Seattle, WA, Richardson Taft Reigart (Bernice) of Los Angeles, CA, Gabrielle Mattar Adams (Kyle) of Lexington, SC, Jill Mattar Crouch (Bo) of Mt. Pleasant, SC, and Michael Charles Mattar (Kristen) of Pawleys Island, SC; seven grandchildren, Liliana Russo Reigart of Seattle, WA, Emily Gabrielle Adams of Washington, DC, Caroline Adams Downs (Scott) of Charlotte, NC, Bobby Eugene Crouch, III (Megan) of Mt. Pleasant, SC, Wilson Brannen Crouch (Lauryn) of Mt. Pleasant, SC, Georgia Ann Mattar of Columbia, SC, and Michael Charles Mattar, Jr. of Oxford, MS; three great-grandchildren, Cooper Brantley Crouch, Sutton Marie Downs and Merritt Ann Downs; brothers Carl Dwight Reigart of New Hampshire and James Chandler Reigart of Awendaw, and sister Dorothy Reigart Telfer of California.

The family will welcome friends at a visitation on Tuesday, April 7, 2026 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.at J. Henry Stuhr Mt. Pleasant Chapel, 1494 Mathis Ferry Road. Funeral service to be Wednesday, April 8, 2026, 2:00 pm at Old St. Andrew's Parish Church, 2604 Ashley River Road, Charleston, SC. Interment to follow immediately thereafter in the church cemetery.

Please consider a memorial to MUSC Children's Hospital 10 McClennan Banks Drive, Charleston, SC 29425 or Beyond Pesticides 701 E. Street, SE Suite 200 Washington, DC 20003.

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