Dave was the son of Dave McNeill, Jr. and Lois Parker McNeill, both originally from Tenaha, Texas. He was born on August 19, 1946, in Shreveport, LA and spent the first six years of his life in Center, Shelby County, Texas. The last two years of that time included his little brother Larry for whom Dave was a great big brother.
The family moved to Houston in 1952 as a result of his attorney father accepting employment with the law firm of Vinson, Elkins, Weems & Searls. They lived in the Highland Village suburb, a neighborhood consisting mostly of families with children of the baby boom generation. It was here that Dave met his lifelong friend Bill Earle, who Dave and the rest of the McNeill family considered a second brother and a third son.
Dave attended public school in Houston, graduating from Will Rogers Elementary School, Sidney Lanier Jr. High, and finally Lamar High School in 1964.
He was accepted into the Plan II program at The University of Texas at Austin for his college education and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1968. During his college career, he was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. This proved convenient to his continued courtship of Dawn Geraldine Potter, a member of Delta Delta Delta, located across the street from the Sigma Chi house. They originally met in high school, became engaged their senior year at UT and married after graduation on July 6, 1968. Their marriage would last for over 55 years until Dawn’s death in 2023, and produced two daughters, Tara Logan and Tracy Laine.
From his very early years, Dave knew he wanted to be a physician like his great grandfather John E. Parker and his grandfather James M. Parker. He was accepted into The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and began his medical education in the fall of 1968 and graduated in 1972. He later completed his residency in Internal Medicine at UTMB. Dave and Dawn were also members of Phi Chi, the oldest and the largest medical fraternity (and the only Co-ed fraternity) at UTMB.
In 1974 the McNeill family moved to The Woodlands, a newly developed community where Dave and fellow UTMB resident Dr. James Krause opened Northwest Diagnostic Clinic, PA, one of the first clinics in the area. The clinic later welcomed William Couch, MD, Denis Galindo, MD, and Stephen Fillman, MD, as well as others, and eventually included offices in north Houston and The Woodlands. Dave was dedicated to the care of his patients and was known by most as “the good doctor” during his career which lasted from 1974 – 2017.
Just as Dave and Dawn were pioneers of The Woodlands, they were early founding members of The Woodlands Methodist Church, participating in the many church efforts to serve others.
Dave was an avid golfer, playing most Saturdays with a standing group of friends for more than 50 years. His wife and children often asked what the group discussed during those many hours on the golf course, to which he usually replied, “the weather”. He was a loyal friend and recognized that some things are best kept on the golf course. He continued lessons with golf professional Susie Kirk until he could no longer swing and stand at the same time.
Dave and Dawn had a large group of friends that they enjoyed traveling to distant places with as well as spending time in Galveston and the Texas Hill Country. They were members of a very active Supper Club, the Booger Greens (if you know, you know), New Year’s Eve Club, as well as others, and generally were the life of every party. Dave enjoyed reading detective novels, tending to his rose garden, skiing in Colorado, waterskiing in Lake Conroe, making craft cocktails, could gator with the best of them, got a kick out of playing video games with his daughters, was a devout UT Longhorn fan, a keen movie goer, and most importantly was a devoted husband, father, son, brother, physician, and friend.
He was preceded in death by his parents and by his wife Dawn. He is survived by his daughter Tara Logan McNeill, his daughter Tracy McNeill Pullan, son-in-law Brent Pullan and his two granddaughters, Quinn and Violet. He is also survived by his brothers Larry Parker McNeill and by John William (“Bill”) Earle.
The family would like to thank the devoted caregivers who attended Dave in his final months, including LaToya, Joy, Diane, Diamon, Carmen, Keisha, and Keira.
A memorial service at The Woodlands Methodist Church’s Robb Chapel will be held on Thursday, August 29 at 2:00 p.m. Following the service all are invited to visit with the family at a reception at the church.
Memorial donations may be made to The Woodlands Methodist Church (www.thewoodlandsmethodist.org/give).
Memories and expressions of sympathy can be shared at www.forestparkthewoodlands.com for the McNeill family. A live stream of the service can be accessed on August 29th, beginning at 1:45pm through the following link:
https://control.resi.io/webplayer/video.html?id=1af0ff20-5cb8-4c8f-89d4-a1a5e5bf73b3
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