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David Thurber Obituary
April 12, 1951 - November 8, 2023
Raleigh, North Carolina - David Cushman Thurber, Jr., M.D., passed away November 8, 2023 at Novant Forsyth Medical Center with his family by his side. He was born in Rochester, NY on 04/12/1951 to David Cushman Thurber, Sr., and Astrid Louise Passer. He had many fond memories of living in Rochester and spending time with his sister, Christine. His father was an internist and had a private practice which included house calls. Dave had happy memories of going with his father on weekends to see patients.
Dave graduated from Irondequoit High School in 1969 where he was on the ice hockey team. In 1969 he attended St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY. and graduated in 1973 with a major in Chemistry. His experiences with his father influenced his decision to be a physician. He attended medical school at the University of Rochester School of Dentistry and Medicine (1977), and completed his medical education at the University of Massachusetts in Worchester, Mass. (1981). He soon became board certified in Internal Medicine, following in his father's footsteps.
In 1981 he moved to North Carolina to work as a supervising physician at Dorothea Dix hospital. In 1989 he began his position at Kaiser Permanente where he began to pursue a career as a hospitalist. He would go on to start the hospitalist programs at Wake Med Cary and Duke Raleigh Hospital and in 2015 accepted an offer to work as a hospitalist at Northern Regional Hospital in Mt. Airy, NC . He retired on January, 2020 but continued to work shifts at the hospital. Giving up medicine was not something in his immediate plans.
Dave and Linda met in 1981 while working together at Dorothea Dix Hospital and were married Sept., 13, 1986, in the Rose Garden in Raleigh with his two step-daughters, Susan and Amy by their side. Dave and Linda loved to travel and experience nature. In 2007 they bought a vacation home in Lowgap, NC, where they enjoyed living in the woods, watching the wildlife and their view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Dave continued to enjoy hobbies such as model trains, ham radios, photography, playing his LPs from the '70's, fixing almost anything and splitting wood for the mountain house wood stove. He was always busy. This house was where he and his family could find serenity away from the problems and troubles of life.
Dave loved his dog Duchess who went with him everywhere. Dave adored his family and loved spending time with his grandchildren, who called him Papa. He was a devoted and caring husband, brother, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle and friend. In everything he did, Dave cared for and supported his family.
Dave was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his wife of 37 years, Linda Christian Thurber, his step-daughters, Susan Nolan Roche (Kevin) and Amy Nolan Weaver (Bill), his five beloved grandchildren, Gregory Michael Davis, Alexander Scott Davis, Emma Christian Reznak, Sadie Christian Weaver and Leonard Nevins Weaver, one great-granddaughter, Ally Matzka, his sister, Christine Knupp (Mike) and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
A Memorial Service will be held at Montlawn Funeral Home and Cremations, 2911 S Wilmington St, Raleigh, NC. On December 2, 2023. Visitation will be held at 1 PM followed by a Memorial Service at 2 PM. Memorials may be made to the Surry Animal Rescue, 172 County Home Rd , Dobson, NC 27017 or to the the Wounded Warrior Project (woundedwarriorproject.org).
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Memories and Condolences
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5 Entries
vicky maclean
March 27, 2024
I was sad to get the news of David's passing in the latest St Lawrence alumni news. Dave was part of the SLU outing club gang - usually on an out doorsie trip on the weekends, kind of the geek crew as opposed to the beer drinking crowd. I recollect he was sometimes referred to as "Thub"
Dave & Kathy Shonerd
November 16, 2023
Dave was always a wonderful conversationalist on a variety of subjects. He will be missed.
Lori Smid
November 15, 2023
Dave will be missed in our community. We so enjoyed playing Pickleball with him! Rest in peace Dave.
James and Linda Cappola
November 14, 2023
Dr. David Thurber was a great friend, as well as a great physician and colleague.
Dave started the Wake Med Cary Hospital Medicine Program from the ground up and brought me on board in 2004. My wife, Linda, who is a nurse practitioner, actually met Dave first. At that time, my wife was working as a staff nurse on the medical/surgical floor at Wake Med Cary. Dave interviewed her for a position as a nurse practitioner on the hospital medicine service.
She came home and told me about the hospitalist "office" where the interview took place. It was about the size of a large broom closet, filled with old sign-out sheets, stale coffee and Dr. Thurber´s Ham Radio. My wife told me that the "office/closet" was so small, they almost had to sit knee-to-knee for the interview. I remember her telling me how she rounded with Dave on the med/surg floor, watching him at the bedside and seeing how caring his was with his patients. As a nurse, my wife has worked with many physicians over the years and is not easily "sold" on any of them. But she was so impressed with Dr. Thurber.
We had small children at the time, so my wife and I did not think the hospital medicine schedule would work out for her. But at that time, I was looking for a change in position. So, Linda gave me Dave´s number, and I called him. I remember he was so excited talk to me. He told me he was recruiting for more full-time hospital medicine physicians and said of Wake Med Cary, " I would love to give you a tour".
So the next thing I knew, Dave was interviewing me over dinner at Lucky 32 across the street from the hospital. As I ate my salmon with Texas Pete hot sauce, he described the hospital medicine program and his plans for it. As he described his goals for patient care and the hospital medicine service, I saw that this was a man with whom I shared a vision for my career and that this was a man I could trust. By the end of our meal, I accepted his offer to join the hospital medicine service and he said he was "delighted". Looking back, working with Dave was one of the best decisions I made in my career.
Dave and I worked together for the next five years at Wake Med Cary Hospital. I really enjoyed the work, though the hours on the hospital medicine service were long and hard. Still, Dave fostered a camaraderie which sadly is missing in many physician groups today. That camaraderie and his kindness kept us going. We were his team and he always had our backs. Once in my evaluation, Dave was kind enough to refer to me as a "stand up professional". But looking back, it was easy to be a stand up professional working with Dave because that is what he modeled and how he lived.
Dave always advocated for his patients and for us. He had principles from which he never wavered-even if there were a political cost. He always made the best of things, no matter how nuts it was in the hospital. Though the hospital medicine service could be grueling, we had a lot of laughs, too. For me, the highlight of the day was morning report. Dr. Thurber and my former colleague, Dr. Kolar were each great physicians who during report, kept us sane with a steady stream of hilarious sarcastic comments as we planned the work for the day.
David was also proud to be a "technocrat". He always loved the newest gadgets. Don´t laugh, but in 2004, he taught me how to use a Palm Pilot and load medical programs on it. He was always exceptionally patient with me as I was "technically challenged".
Sometimes, I made Dave laugh, too. I recall that each of us had a mailbox in the office and for some reason, one day, we all received complementary magazines from some publisher. Apparently, this publisher thought we needed free literature for our office waiting room, unaware that we ran a hospital medicine service and that the whole ER was our waiting room. Keep in mind, this happened before everyone could just read from an iPhone. Anyway, that day, I reached into my mailbox expecting to find some random issue of Road and Track, National Geographic or Good Housekeeping. But instead, I was sent three shiny, brand new issues of American Cheerleader. So I showed Dave what I had received. He laughed so hard, his face got so red, and he almost lost his balance and fell off his chair! I will never forget the satisfaction of watching Dave laugh that hard.
Dave was always kind to us. During my first year with him, he gave each of us a Christmas check from his own money. One morning, I brought my oldest daughter to work, who was about four years old at the time. She didn´t always behave herself and to keep herself occupied during morning report, she decided to make drawings of a "fashion show" as fast as she could and hang them up on our cabinets as we were discussing patients. Dr. Thurber took it in stride and asked Gabby "Did you draw those? How nice!". And when my wife had a serious health scare and I needed time off from work, Dave was so understanding and compassionate-the kind of doctor I would want myself.
Like his family, his friends and his colleagues, I am very sad to say goodbye to Dave Thurber. But I want everyone to know, that though Dave left us all too soon, all the good he did and all the lives he touched will not be forgotten.
Rest in peace, Dave.
James J. Cappola, III,M.D., FACP
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Hope Whitfield Schlitt
November 14, 2023
Such a caring, sweet doctor! I enjoyed the few times we worked together and getting to talk. He will be greatly missed.
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