Dr. Don Martin O'Neal's Obituary
On August 26, 2022, our beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, friend, and physician Don went to be with Jesus. It broke our hearts, but we are happy for the health, peace, and eternal life he now has. He lived 75 wonderful years and touched so many lives. We will remember him for the loving, thoughtful, talented, brilliant, kind, generous, hard-working man we knew, and we will miss him with all our hearts, but we know we will see him again in heaven.
Don was born April 16, 1947, to Martin and Wilma O’Neal, Jr., in Dallas, Texas. He was the second of three sons, in the middle of his older brother Bill, and later his younger brother Bob. He loved them dearly and has remained close to them always. He was very close to his grandparents in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Henry and Almode Yeats, and Martin and Mabel O’Neal, Sr. The Methodist church was the center of much of their lives.
When Don was in 3rd grade, his family moved to Pecos, Texas, where they owned a Western Auto store. Don was an outstanding student and participated in sports and extracurricular activities, in addition to church activities, but helping his mom and dad in the store every day took much of his time. During his Pecos years, Don was inspired to become a small-town family physician by Dr. Schmidt, the family’s doctor. In addition, in Pecos he was a member of a trio, playing guitar and singing on the local radio station. He made many friends in Pecos, and just before his senior year at Pecos HS, his family sold the store and moved to Waco, Texas, where he continued to excel in school, graduating from Richfield High School in 1965. He had a part-time job at Hillcrest Hospital in Waco.
While continuing to live at home, he attended Baylor University as a pre-med student majoring in chemistry. He was an excellent student there, and he also made many friends at Baylor, especially the members of Taurus. He continued to play guitar and sing folk music, and he maintained lifelong ties with a special group of his fraternity brothers. He continued to work at Hillcrest Hospital in Waco.
While at Baylor, Don was admitted to a number of medical schools, and he chose UT Southwestern Medical School at Dallas, a top school nationally. It happened that his parents and brother Bob moved to Dallas at the same time as Don, so he continued to live at home during medical school. During his freshman year at Southwestern, Don met Mary Ann McConnico, a student at the University of North Texas, through a mutual friend. It was love at first sight for both of them, and they married in 1971 after his sophomore year. She had graduated from UNT and had a job teaching high school in Irving when he began his third year at Southwestern. He also had three part-time medical jobs at the time.
After medical school came internship and residency for three years in Ft. Worth, but the most important event was the birth of their first son, Scott, in 1974. Don worked very hard, but his little family was his joy. After an extensive search of small Texas towns with an existing Family Practice clinic, they settled on Sulphur Springs. Two weeks after they moved there in 1976, their second son Steven was born.
From the first day in medical practice at Medical-Surgical Clinic, Don was very busy. He saw patients all day in the clinic, made rounds at Hopkins County Memorial Hospital, was on-call for emergencies, delivered babies, did surgery, made nursing home rounds, served on committees at the hospital, dictated charts, and worked 18-hour days regularly from 1976 to 2016. He loved the practice of medicine and his patients, and his patients loved him in return. After his retirement, he moved to Tyler to be nearer his son Steven’s family, which includes his granddaughters Grace, 7, and Emma, 4.
By being in a group practice, Don was able to take time off to spend with his family. He was a faithful member of the Methodist church all of his life, and his personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ was his foundation. He took his wife and sons on many wonderful trips and spent important time with his sons, teaching them about faith, integrity, and hard work. He was the rock of his family, and he and his wife Mary Ann recently celebrated 51 years of a happy, loving marriage together. His love will forever be in our hearts.
He cared deeply for people, especially children, and in place of flowers, donations to the Methodist Children’s Home in Waco are requested. Their website is: Donate – Methodist Children’s Home (mch.org)
Funeral arrangements for Dr. Don Martin O’Neal have been faithfully entrusted to Restland Funeral Home and Cemetery, which is located at 13005 Greenville Ave., at the intersection of Restland Road, Dallas, Texas 75243, and can be reached at (972) 238-7111.
Visitation: Thursday, September 1st, 2022 @06:00 PM to 08:00 PM
Restland Funeral Home
13005 Greenville Avenue
Dallas, TX 75243
Graveside Service: Friday, September 2nd, 2022 @ 10:00 AM (CST)
Laurel Land Memorial Park
6300 S. RL Thornton Fwy
Dallas, TX 75232
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations, in Don's name, to:
Methodist Children's Home
1111 Herring Avenue,
Waco, TX 75708
Phone: 800-853-272
https://www.mch.org/donate/
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