Mr. Dale E Emmert

Passed away at home on December 22nd at age 65. Dale is survived by his wife of 38 years, Debra Emmert, sons, Austin Emmert and Wade Emmert, wife Michelle and grandsons, Walker and Will Emmert and brother, Jim Emmert. He is preceded in death by his parents and brother, Duane Emmert.

Dale was raised in Odessa, TX and graduated from Permian High School, where he was Class Favorite and President of the Student Council, among other honors. After high school, Dale lived and married in Midland, TX and became the parent of his first son, Dale Wade Emmert, who currently resides with his family in Cedar Hill, TX.

Dale appreciated fine food and loved to share his passion by entertaining friends and family. His love of food led him to the restaurant business, for the first half of his life. Beginning in the early 1970’s, he relocated to Austin, TX to attend college at the University of Texas and went to work at the Capitol Oyster Bar, as a bartender, and worked his way up to management. He then became a co-creator and co-owner (with Bud and Linda Bates) of Casablanca and the Blue Parrot, all located at 15th and Lavaca. The Oyster Bar and the clubs were extremely popular, as this was before 6th Street was a major destination.

In 1975, Dale met Debra Walker as she managed the merchant credit card program for American Bank, and he would come in frequently to get credit card supplies. They married in August of 1976 in Austin, at Green Pastures. Dale and Debra subsequently moved to Houston, where he worked as a Sales Representative for Sysco Foods. Their son, Austin, was born in Houston in 1980. The restaurant business again called out to him, and he went to work as General Manager of Papa Joe’s Seafood Restaurant on Richmond, in Houston. In the early 1980’s, he and another partner at Papa Joe’s, opened up a new restaurant called Bayou City Oyster Company. Dale was the General Manager and created the menu, which was recognized with a national award.

In 1983, Dale and Debra returned to Austin, and purchased the Capitol Oyster Bar from the original owners, Bud and Linda Bates. Dale and Debra ran the restaurant for six years. The economy, coupled with lack of parking due to new construction forced the closure of the restaurant, which is now designated as a historical building.

Dale, Debra and Austin relocated to Dallas, where he was the Food & Beverage Director for the Embassy Suites hotel in Market Center. After a few years, he purchased and ran two office building cafes, which were appealing, as there were no nights or weekends involved! Dale’s Midway Deli was located in the lobby of the Mian Building on Hwy 635 and Regency Café was in the Gaedeke Building on Rawlins in Dallas.

In 1999, Dale decided to sell his restaurant and leave the restaurant business, and began his education to become a certified clinical hypnotherapist (C.C.Ht.) He received all the levels of training offered, up to obtaining a Ph.D. He had a true gift for helping people with all types of issues, such as smoking, weight loss, addictions, anxieties, etc. He started his own practice in 2000, and subsequently opened up a school called Academy of Hypnosis to train others. After news of his illness came out, he received letters from former clients telling him what a huge difference he had made in their lives. They said they will remember his calm, soothing, beautiful voice and gentle wisdom. As one friend commented, Dale fed not only their stomachs, but their souls. He was always thinking of others and how to make their lives better. In addition, for approximately six years, he managed the Common Grounds ministry at Unity of Dallas, where he shopped for and provided food for two services every Sunday, with a team of others.

Dale’s other passion was cars, and there will be a slide show at the funeral, with photos of all the cars he had owned and loved in the past, which his son Austin assembled. In addition, he enjoyed riding his bike on the Chisholm Trail in Dallas and going to movies with his wife. Dale also was passionate about their two rescue dachshunds, Oscar and Maya. He was smart enough to recognize that they actually ran the household!

Dale and Debra had a long and successful marriage, and enjoyed traveling to destinations such as Hawaii, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Colorado and the Caribbean.

Above all, he was extremely proud of his sons, Wade and Austin, and grandsons, Walker and Will Emmert.

Our gratitude is extended to the caregivers at Faith Presbyterian Hospice, which allowed Dale to stay home during his illness, which is what he requested.

A Celebration of Life service will be held on Saturday, January 3, 2015 at Ted Dickey West Funeral Home, 7990 George Bush Turnpike, Dallas, TX at 2:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Meals on Wheels atgethelp@vnatexas.org 1600 Viceroy Drive Suite 400 Dallas, TX 75235