Richard George Fadal M.D.

Richard George Fadal, M.D., 79, of Waco, passed away Monday, April 4, 2011. Services will be 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, at St. Alban's Episcopal Church with the Rev. Jeff Fisher, the Rev. Michael Attas, M.D. and the Rev. Jimmy Abbott officiating. Burial will follow at Oakwood Cemetery.

Dr. Fadal was born May 29, 1931, in Waco, to George Moses Fadal and Katherine MacKosher Fadal. He attended Waco public schools, graduated from Baylor University in 1951, and graduated from Southwestern Medical School in 1955. While at Southwestern, he met Margaret Aline DeBusk, and they were married Jan. 6, 1956, at Oak Lawn Methodist Church in Dallas.

Dr. Fadal completed his medical internship at Providence Hospital in Waco in 1956. He then served as captain in the U.S. Air Force from 1956 to 1957, after which he began his private practice. He practiced medicine for 45 years, and was on the medical staffs of Providence and Hillcrest hospitals in Waco, and Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, N.J. Additionally he was the attending physician at the Methodist Home in Waco, as well as a volunteer Faculty Member for McLennan County Family Practice whose residents presented him with the Aynesworth Award for Teaching and Outstanding Faculty Member in 2000 and 2001.

Dr. Fadal's keen interest in allergies led him to obtain his board certification from The American Board of Allergy and Immunology. In 1975, the radioallergosorbent test (RAST) was developed in Sweden to replace the time honored skin test with a simple blood test for the detection of specific antibodies present only in the serum of allergic individuals. In 1977, Dr. Fadal introduced this new technology into his medical practice in Waco for confirming the specific diagnosis of allergic diseases such as hay fever, eczema, food allergies or animal dander sensitivity. Dr. Fadal gave numerous lectures in allergy seminars on its use, and in 1978, working with one of his students, Dr. Donald Nalebuff from New Jersey, they modified the test to create a system to allow the testing physician to design individual treatment schedules related to the patient's test scores. These treatment schedules became known as the Fadal-Nalebuff Modified RAST. In 1981, they were awarded a U.S. patent and published a book entitled RAST in Clinical Allergy. Over the next 20 years, they traveled extensively throughout the United States, England, Sweden and Australia, teaching their methodology to thousands of physicians. This technology is still widely used among pediatricians, family doctors, pulmonologists and ear, nose and throat physicians. Dr. Fadal also played an important role in educating insurance companies on the cost effectiveness and coverage of these tests in the state of Texas.

Dr. Fadal was a member of many professional organizations including the McLennan County, Texas, and American Medical Associations, the Texas Allergy Society, Diplomat of the American Board of Allergy and Immunology, Honorary Fellow of the American Academy of Otolaryngologic Allergy, Fellow of the American Association of Certified Allergists, Fellow of the American College of Allergy and Immunology, Founding Fellow and Director of the American In-Vitro Allergy/Immunology Society, and past president of the Pan American Allergy Society. Dr. Fadal published numerous articles in various medical journals and served as consultant and lecturer for many pharmaceutical companies. Aside from his professional activities, he was an avid outdoorsman. He loved hunting and fishing with his family and friends.

Dr. Fadal is survived by his wife; daughter, Stacy Fadal Coker and husband, Burl; sons, Richard D. Fadal and wife, Jennifer, Thomas A Fadal and wife, Tracy, and Michael R. Fadal and wife, Debbie; granddaughters, Lacy Coker Kessler, M.D. and husband, Jimmy, Ashley Coker Blossman and husband, Cody, Jennifer Fadal Salisbury, Pharm.D. and husband, Kurt, Holly Fadal Hinojosa and husband, Kyle, and Jill Fadal; grandsons, Christopher Fadal, DPT and wife, Stephanie Byrd Fadal, DPT, Tyler Fadal, Kyle Fadal, and Colt Fadal; and great-granddaughter, Katherine Elizabeth Kessler; sisters, Mary Fadal Holstein and husband, Jack, and Caroline Fadal Hurst and husband, James; niece, Kathy Wetsell; and nephew, Steven Holstein.

The pallbearers will be grandsons and grandsons-in-law.

Memorials may be made to St. Alban's Episcopal Church, Providence Hospice or the charity of choice.

The family invites you to leave a message or memory in our "Memorial Guestbook" at www.WilkirsonHatchBailey.com.

May 29, 1931 - April 4, 2011

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