David J. Pillow

1923 - 2014

David J. Pillow, M.D., 90, died peacefully at his home in Colleyville on Saturday, May 24, 2014. Memorial service: A private service will be held at his home with the family he treasured. Memorials: If you desire to make a donation in his honor, please do so to a favorite charity. He was born to the late Jack and Hilda Pillow on June 9, 1923, in Austin. He graduated in 1940 from Paschal High School in Fort Worth, where he met his future wife, Annabel Lee McClary, whom he married in September 1944. In the interim he joined the Navy in 1941 and rose to chief pharmacist mate by the time of his honorable discharge in June 1946. He served on the USS North Carolina battleship in the Pacific during World War II. With encouragement from Annabel, he set out to become a physician, attending Texas Christian University for pre-med from 1946 to 1949 and then George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., from 1949 to 1953. He graduated first in his class and completed his internship at D.C. General Hospital in Washington, D.C., from 1953 to 1954. He returned to Fort Worth for a one-year general practice residency at John Peter Smith Hospital from 1954 to 1955. He then started a private practice in 1955 in North Richland Hills, which quickly became the Pillow, Rush, Jacobson & Bell Medical Clinic. He did everything for his patients from delivering their babies to surgically removing their infected appendix to managing their care when they had a heart attack. He was one of the founders of Glenview Hospital in 1961, later known as North Hills Hospital in North Richland Hills. He later served as president of the board of North Hills Hospital. David took a break from private practice and became the director of the family practice program at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth from 1972 to 1978. He returned to private practice in North Richland Hills from 1978 to 1989. He loved to teach and was the co-director of the nurse practitioner program at the University of Texas at Arlington from 1978 to 1991, then instructor in pharmacology until 1994. From 1989 to 1996 he did locum tenens with Whitaker Medical Group, and from 1996 to 2000 he worked caring for seniors in the Senior Medical Clinic of North Hills Hospital in North Richland Hills. After a two-year retirement, he opened Pillow Medical Clinic in 2002 at age 78. He cared for Medicare patients until his health finally forced him to retire in 2006 at age 83. He was loved by his patients and he was always a leader. His contributions were honored in 2005 when North Hills Hospital established an annual Dr. David J. Pillow Lifetime Achievement Award, and he was the first recipient. In 2006 the city of North Richland Hills named a new city park the Dr. Pillow Park to honor his lifetime of contributions. In 2008 North Hills Hospital named its new senior health clinic the Dr. David Pillow Senior Health Clinic. He spent rare vacations hunting and fishing and going to medical meetings to keep up his skills. When asked in his later years what was the most important thing in life, he always said family. He considered his children his legacy and always encouraged us by his example to work hard and make a difference for others. The world will miss him but his legacy lives on. Survivors: The love of his life and biggest supporter during their 70 years of marriage, Annabel Pillow of Colleyville; older sister, Barbara Debusk of Marble Falls; daughter and English teacher, Kathleen Hudson of Kerrville; son and ER physician, David Pillow Jr. of Dallas; son and retired recruiter in the accounting industry, Charlie Pillow of Grapevine; daughter and retired nurse anesthetist, Carolyn Pillow of Grapevine; son and ER physician, John Pillow of Grapevine; 11 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandson.