David Neal's Obituary
Dr. David R. Neal, 57, went home to be with his Lord and Savior on Friday after a joyful life filled with smiles – those he fixed, those he caused and the one that never left his face. He became his father’s partner at Neal Dental Clinic where both were beloved, not only for their dentistry, which was outstanding, but for their kindness, laughter and generosity. His father Dr. Charles Neal III was called Dr. Neal by staff and patients. He was Dr. David. He was listed in the phone book so patients could call him day or night if they had a tooth that was “fussy.” He’d drop what he was doing and meet them at the clinic. He woke up and went to bed happy every day. Every morning he drank “the best cup of coffee” he ever tasted. He was the kind of dentist who convinced a gas station clerk, who had no teeth, to come to his office and let him make her some, of course, at no cost. He was the dentist who never let a shot hurt; the kind who filled patients’ mouths with cotton and contraptions and then asked questions. He met his wife Cissie at Covenant College on Lookout Mountain and for 37 years, never let her go. He brought her home yellow roses at least twice a month. He ate whatever she cooked and always thanked her. They always laughed even in his final days, which came ferociously fast. Their four children David, John, Allison and Brian, a son who died at age 7, filled the house with noise and laughter, the way Dr. David liked it. Sometimes he woke them in the middle of the night asking, “Do you want to make a Waffle House run?”, and they never refused him. He loved to snow ski and tending to his vegetable garden, but above all, his family was his greatest hobby. He and Cissie took their kids on adventures, trips to the beach, to snowy mountains and his favorite place New Orleans. He called people “kiddo.” He liked pound cake, pizza, barbeque, country music and NASCAR. He liked to cut his grass and loved the smell of two-stroke engine oil when he started up his lawn equipment. He always turned things over to see where they were made. He was a member of the American Dental Society, Memphis Dental Society and Tennessee Dental Association. When his son John brought home a Red Nose Pit Bull puppy named Oak, Dr. David told him that Cissie wouldn’t let him keep it. The pup quickly became Dr. David’s pet. He carried Oak around the house like a baby, so much that people wondered if the dog would ever learn to walk. He fed “Oakie” baby food and got the dog a giant bed so they could both snuggle on it and watch television. The two never left each other’s side. In addition to his wife and children, he is survived by his mother Emma Neal, his sisters Kathy Harris (Dr. Bradley Harris) and Julie McDaniel, his daughter Allison’s husband Clifton, numerous nieces and nephews, and dozens of patients, friends and colleagues who always left him in a better mood and grateful that they knew him. He was preceded in death by his father, Dr. Charles A. Neal III, his brother Charles A. Neal IV and his son Brian. The family will receive friends from 5-7 p.m. Sunday, May 5 at Memorial Park Funeral Home and the funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, May 6 at Riveroaks Reformed Presbyterian Church, 1665 Germantown Road. Burial will follow at Memorial Park Southwoods Cemetery. The family request that memorials be directed to Riveroaks Reformed Presbyterian Church, 1665 Germantown Road.Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery, 5668 Poplar Ave. Memphis, TN 38119, (901)767-8930, “Behind the Stone Wall”.
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