Eck Gabriel Prud'homme Jr., M.D

1924 - 2008

Eck G. Prud'homme Jr., M.D., 84, died Saturday, June 14, 2008, as a result of a stroke.
Funeral: Memorial Mass of Christian Burial is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday at Holy Family Catholic Church, 6150 Pershing Ave.
Memorials: In lieu of flowers, his memory may be honored with a donation to Holy Family Catholic Church or a charity of choice.
Eck was born in Texarkana, Texas, on Feb. 8, 1924, to Eck G. and Mary Anderson Prud'homme. He grew up in Hemphill and Pineland, graduating from Pineland High School in 1941. He was an Eagle Scout. He enrolled at Texas A&M and, while there, enlisted in the Army Air Corps. He was sent by the military to the Institute of Meteorology at the University of Chicago, from which he received his B.S. in physics.
He served as a weather officer in Burma and India, and was honorably discharged as a first lieutenant in 1945. He married Margaret Murray, his sweetheart since the 10th grade, on Jan. 24, 1948. They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this year. He graduated from medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston in 1952.
He practiced family medicine in Winnie before moving to Fort Worth, where he practiced at the River Oaks Clinic with Thomas W. Risley, M.D., from 1957-1978. In 1978 he became the medical director of the Schick Shadel Hospital for the treatment of alcohol and drug addiction, from which he retired in 1985. He was a charter fellow of the American Academy of Family Practice and was certified by examination by the American Medical Society on alcoholism and other drug dependencies.
Eck lived his life in the service of others. Compassion and empathy were hallmarks of his character, and he was committed to making the world a better place by treating each person he encountered with respect and dignity. His compassion was demonstrated by the way he provided care to his patients and in his fight for human rights and social justice. Eck was relentless in his efforts to make a difference in his community.
In the late 1960s he was instrumental in the desegregation of Fort Worth ISD schools. From that time forward he had an avid interest in politics, and he supported the Democratic Party and many other causes in which he believed. He could be termed a "political junkie." He never hesitated to share his opinions on current events with others, including the readers of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Letters to the Editor.
His interests were varied, ranging from his support of the ACLU to being the founding president of Ballet Concerto. Eck was a lifelong learner and voracious reader who never quit studying the subjects which interested him -- physics, biochemistry, the Great Books series, and, most recently, the subject of entropy.
Traveling was one of his favorite activities, and he visited many countries and every continent except Antarctica. He didn't like going on organized tours, but would set out with his wife and very often his sister, Eleanor, and brother-in-law, Mike Breen, to explore remote parts of the world. He loved to tell stories about their many adventures. He fulfilled one of his ambitions in 1996 by climbing the steps of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet.
Survivors: His wife, Margaret of Fort Worth; daughters, Ann Jennings and her husband, Monty of Longmont, Colo., Kay Tillman and her husband, Mark of Junction; grandchildren, Gabriel Graman, Ryan, Matthew and Luke Tillman, Grant Jennings and Jenni Murray, and Jane Jennings; great-grandson, Michael Jennings; brothers and sisters-in-law, Thomas and Shirley Prud'homme of Austin, Gilbert and Connie Prud'homme of Austin and Joseph and Mary Prud'homme of Tyler; numerous nieces and nephews.