David Joseph Turell

David Joseph Turell, M.D., was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Jewish parents, David always wanted to be a doctor and a Texas cowboy. He grew up in Nassau County New York, and left for Bates College at the early age of 17. After college, he was fortunate to beat out many returning veterans from WWII to get into Syracuse University for medical school. When he met Donna Jeanne Cohan there, he knew she was the one. They married in 1953, and moved to Cleveland, Ohio, and Columbia, South Carolina as he continued his medical training and army commitment as a Captain doing army physicals. Family lived in Houston Texas, so they decided to move there in 1960. As an internist/cardiologist, this was a lucky coincidence as Houston was the budding heart capital of the world. He was a wonderful, gifted physician. His patients loved his ability to involve them in their medical care and decisions, always educating them. Probably his biggest gift was his ability to listen to his patients and develop accurate diagnoses that saved many lives.

David and Donna had three children, Susan Carol, Robin Halle, and Jonathan Alan. Losing his son from cancer in 2006 was an unimaginable loss for him. He and Donna had a beautiful love story, living in Meyerland for over three decades. He was president of the Meyerland homeowners in the 1980’s, helping to start projects to solve the flooding situation there. They traveled the world, had tickets to the Alley theater, and enjoyed socializing with many friends and family. Unfortunately, Donna had a terminal cancer and that chapter ended in 1992.

As luck would have it, David fell in love with Susan McMaster and was able to become the Texas cowboy he had dreamed of. They married in 1993, lived in the county, raising angus cattle and paint horses. David loved the technical aspects of Angus breeding and developed a prize herd. His Angus bulls were high selling in local bull tests. He also enjoyed going to horse shows and he even learned to drive a horse, with an antique doctor’s buggy. Active throughout his life, David loved building various sheds for the farm, doing plumbing and electrical work, and just tinkering around. This continued his previous hobbies of raising bromeliads for decades. And he and Susan continued to travel, revisiting previous favorite locations and new ones. They always enjoyed visiting with locals and seeing wildlife. When he died, they had a trip planned to see the Northern lights in Norway. A lifelong baseball fan, David transferred his childhood interest from the Yankees to the Astros. He had season tickets for many years and watched games until his death. Always learning, he began to explore the existence of God. Over three decades, he read and wrote extensively about the topic, self-publishing two books and contributing almost daily to the website blog Agnostic Web. David had a zest for life and lived to the fullest until the end.

He is preceded in death by his parents, George and Ruth (Bronstein) Turkeltaub, first wife, Donna Cohan Turell, son Jonathan Alan Turell, and brother William Arthur Turkeltaub. He is survived by his loving wife, Susan McMaster Turell, daughters Susan Carol Turell (Sandra Smith) and Robin Halle (Ruby Herron), and many cousins, nieces, and nephews.

The family invites you to attend a service for David that is convenient for you. The first will take place at 10:30 a.m. Monday, July 7 in the chapel of Memorial Oaks Funeral Home, 13001 Katy Freeway in Houston, 77079, followed by a committal service in the cemetery at 11:30 a.m., after which family and friends will gather to share memories during a reception back at the funeral home. Another service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Sunday, July 13 at Emanu El Memorial Park, 8341 Bissonnet in Houston, 77074.