Don R. Read's Obituary
Don R. Read, M.D., died on March 21, 2019 after a year-and-a-half battle with pancreatic cancer. Dr. Read, a colon and rectal surgeon at Medical City Hospital, was a past president of the 47,000-member Texas Medical Association, the largest medical association in the U.S. He was also president of the 6,000-member Dallas County Medical Society.Born in Ft. Worth on January 17, 1942, he grew up in the Park Cities and attended elementary through junior high schools in the Highland Park School District. His father was transferred by his company to Glendale, California, where Don was co-captain and quarterback of the Hoover High School Tornadoes. He was an Eagle Scout and one of 21 top high school science students for the NASA-related Ojai Summer Science Program.He graduated from Austin College and while there was a high level representative of U.S. students with Operation Crossroads Africa, which included personal audiences with two historic African figures: Ethiopian Ruler Haile Selassie and Jomo Kenyatta, first President of Kenya. He earned his M.D. from the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston. He served an externship with doctors in the bush in Zaire (Congo), helping deliver medical care in remote and primitive conditions.He was a U.S. Navy surgeon in a M.A.S.H. unit in Vietnam with front-line Marines where he was decorated with a Bronze Star. After leaving military service with the rank of lieutenant commander, he returned to Chicago and, upon completing his residency, was named the Director of Surgical Education at Cook County Hospital. He was an assistant professor of surgery at the University of Illinois.He returned to Dallas and was a co-founder of Texas Colon and Rectal Specialists in Dallas, one of the largest group practices in that specialty in the U.S., with 18 surgeons in 11 offices. He served as president or head of 17 hospital and medical society organizations, held nine Medical Society memberships, was appointed to the staffs of 11 hospitals, participated in 153 medical conferences and published ten professional papers. He received the prestigious Charles Max Cole, MD, Leadership Award.As president of the Dallas County Medical Society, he launched Project Access, for outreach for the working poor of Dallas, and was a local pioneer in programs to treat and rehabilitate medical professionals addicted to drugs or alcohol.In 2005 Dr. Read nearly died of West Nile Virus. He founded the West Nile Support Group in Dallas and his recovery was a source of inspiration and he was a resource for those suffering the deficits of WNV. He gave hope to other West Nile Virus victims that their health could improve. He visited other West Nile Virus patients in hospitals, educating them about the virus in layman’s terms. He was a frequent face on Dallas television as the area’s leading spokesperson on the disease and he answered mail from WNV victims worldwide.Dr. Read was a board member of the Dallas Rotary Club and he was a baritone in the choir of Preston Hollow and Highland Park Presbyterian Churches.He is survived by his adoring wife of 50 years, Roberta, daughters Alison, and Sarah Read (Bob) Gehrenbeck and two grandchildren Henry Read and Theo Don Gehrenbeck. He is also survived by his brother, Nat (Linda) Read.Visitation is scheduled for Friday evening, March 29 at Restland Funeral Home, 13005 Greenville Ave., Dallas. Services will be at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 30 at Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church.In lieu of flowers, a fund in his name will underwrite one or more pieces of commissioned choral music. (Dr. Don R. Read Fund for Commissioned Choral Music, Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church, 9800 Preston Rd., Dallas, TX 75230.
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