Dr. Paul Fordham Nugent Jr. of Xenia, Ohio, was an Air Force officer, flight surgeon, and military hospital commander who later served as medical monitor for several Gemini spaceflights through NASA’s manned spaceflight program.
An East Hampton native whose military service took him to many places around the world, he also took an interest in genealogy later in life, and was able to trace his maternal ancestry to Southampton’s early settlers.
Dr. Nugent died in hospice care in Cincinnati on April 6 following a fall and then a brief illness. He was 95.
He was born in East Hampton on May 18, 1928, to Paul Fordham Nugent and the former Margaret White. He graduated from high school here in 1946, having been the vice president of his class, and went on to Cornell University, where he was a member of the band, the choir, and the staff of the school’s humor magazine, The Cornell Widow. He graduated in 1950, attended Cornell’s medical school, and finished his medical internship in 1954. One year later, he entered the Air Force as a first lieutenant in the Medical Corps under the provision of the Doctor Draft Law.
He and Caroline Gibson were married in 1952. The couple would go on to have two children, who survive, Paul F. Nugent III of Pleasant Plain, Ohio, and Beth Nugent of Chicago. His wife died in 2005 after 53 years of marriage.
He would later get in touch with his former high school sweetheart, Dorothy Abramsohn, and “she brought great joy and love into his life when they reconnected several years after both had lost their spouses,” his family wrote. Ms. Abramsohn survives and lives in Owings Mills, Md.
“He did much good in his life, always ready to help out anyone he encountered who needed a boost,” his family said. “He considered it his responsibility to help those in need, and he made a lifelong practice of donating to many charities focused on helping animals, veterans, and the environment.”
“He loved classical music, bad jokes, ‘Jeopardy,’ and the quiet peace of his rural Ohio house, where he lived happily until his death,” his family said.
Dr. Nugent had “many good friends throughout his life and made it a priority to stay in touch with them, from his oldest childhood friend,” Bob Osborne of East Hampton, “to those he met later in life.”
In addition to his son, whose wife is Christine Imbus, his daughter, and Ms. Abramsohn, Dr. Nugent also leaves a sister, Margaret Conklin of Southampton.
His large extended family included his sister-in-law, Judy Conklin, and brother-in-law, Joe Conklin, as well as cousins, nieces, nephews, stepgrandchildren, and step-great-grandchildren.
He was buried at Union Cemetery in Hudson Falls, N.Y. Memorial donations have been suggested to the Humane Society of Greene County at P.O. Box 51, Xenia, Ohio 45385. Online condolences can be shared at mccolaughfuneralhome.com.
