Dale Gordon Darnell

Dale Gordon Darnell was born on October 30, 1951 to Glenn and Lola Darnell in New Orleans, Louisiana. Three minutes later his brother, Dave Ernest Darnell was born. That brought the family total to six, as Glenn and Lola already had two sons, Richard Glenn Darnell and Don Ross Darnell.

Dale started grade school in Dallas, graduated from Westbury High school in Houston, attended Stephen F. Austin for two years, and in 1973 graduated from the University Texas in Austin with a B.A. in Humanities. In 1977 he received a Th.M. degree from Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS). In 1986 he earned the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation which he used throughout his career.

Dale met Julia Turbeville while he was studying at DTS. They were married on June 17, 1977. The couple welcomed four boys over the years, Joel Timothy, Michael Hodge, Daniel Glenn, and Andrew Louis.

Dale’s work life was mainly in ministry or finance. He served four years as an associate pastor at Cedar Valley Bible Church, and four years as a sales representative with IDS/American Express. Dale then served ten years as a planned giving consultant with Dallas Seminary Foundation, ten years as vice president of advancement with the American Tract Society, and ten years as a financial solutions representative with Fidelity Investments from which he retired this summer.

Dale had a number of hobbies, all of which took him outside to enjoy God’s great creation. He always had a rose bush or two from which he enjoyed bringing roses to Julie. Julie introduced Dale to the wonderful game of tennis. Dale’s dad got him interested in fishing. Steve Sundin, a close friend, and Dale’s brother, Don, encouraged him to consider the great game of golf.

After a three-year battle with cancer, Dale passed away peacefully in his home on Friday, December 30, 2016. Dale is survived by his wife Julia Turbeville Darnell of Dallas, TX; mother Lola Irene Darnell of Huntsville, TX; son Joel Timothy and his wife Celina of Seattle, WA; son Michael Hodge, his wife Samantha, and their son Beckett all of Chicago, IL; son Daniel Glenn and his wife Ava of Austin, TX; son Andrew Louis and his wife Ashley of Tacoma, WA; brother Richard Glenn and his wife Kate of Salado, TX; brother Don Ross and his wife Carol of Henderson, NV; and twin brother Dave Ernest and his wife Patsy of Canton, TX. Dale is preceded in death by his father Glenn Darnell.

A Memorial Service will be held in his memory on Thursday, January 5, 2017 at 1:00 PM at Northwest Bible Church (8505 Douglas Ave, Dallas, TX 75225) with a reception to follow.

In lieu of flowers the family asks for donations to be made in Dale’s memory to the following ministries that he faithfully served: Dallas Theological Seminary, Our Calling, and Northwest Bible Church Outreach Fund.