Richard Holgate Obituary

Richard Cecil Holgate ISLE OF PALMS - Richard Cecil Holgate passed in the early morning hours of March 16, 2022. He was born January 20, 1941 to Ernest Holgate and Kathleen Mary (Keegan) Holgate in Sudbury, ON Canada, where he would remain for his formative years. Dr. Holgate attended St. Charles College, Sudbury, ON, and later graduated from the University of Toronto Medical School in 1965. He completed a residency in Internal Medicine at The Queens Medical Center, Honolulu, HI; a residency in Neurology at New Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, ON; residencies in Radiology at New Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto East General Hospital, and Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON. Dr. Holgate additionally completed a Fellowship in Neuroradiology at Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, and Radiology at the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases, London, England. He was board certified by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and became a Fellow of that organization. In 1984, having served on the medical staff at numerous Toronto area hospitals and while acting as Assistant Professor of Radiology at the University of Toronto, Dr. Holgate immigrated to the United States to fill the position of Associate Professor of Radiology at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). He remained at MUSC for six years until relocating to California to work as a radiologist at the Medical Imaging Center of Southern California, Santa Monica, CA. It was during his tenure there that Dr. Holgate decided to open his own practice. In 1992, Diagnostic Imaging of South Carolina (DISC), also known as DISC MRI and DISC Radiology, opened in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina as the first independent and privately operated MRI facility in South Carolina. In 2010 DISC Radiology partnered with MUSC to provide its patients better access to MRI. Most recently Dr. Holgate served as a radiologist for the Southeastern Spine Institute. In his private life, Rick was somewhat of a renaissance man. He sang Folk music; picked a banjo; played guitar, harmonica, and boogie-woogie piano. While attending University, he worked the coat check at a Toronto jazz club and became a fan of the music, eventually taking Jazz guitar lessons during his time in California. He played basketball in his youth, became a PADI certified diver in middle age, and remained an avid skier and windsurfer for much of his life. Before attending medical school, Rick thought he might design sport cars and throughout his life had a penchant for the smallest ones. He was a great bedtime storyteller with a sharp wit and sense of humor and spent a few years as Santa Claus' stuntman so he knew oatmeal cookies were Santa's favorite. He liked to eat his apple pie with a slice of cheddar, his cheesecake naked, and he's really sorry he's not Irish. Dr. Holgate was preceded in death by his brothers, Timothy Holgate and Michael Holgate. Dr. Holgate is survived by his wife, Lynn Danielson Holgate, his two children, Amber Holgate and Asa Holgate, and his nephew, Matthew Holgate. Friends and family are cordially invited to attend a service at 11:30AM on April 7th at Stella Maris Catholic Church, 1204 Middle Street Sullivan's Island, SC 29482. Immediately following, there will be a celebration of life from 1:00 - 4:00 at the VFW Post, 3137 Front Beach, Isle of Palms. Visit our guestbook at legacy.com/obituaries/charleston