Dr. David Wiman

Dr. Thomas David Wiman passed away at his home in Fort Worth on Friday, August 28th, 2015. He Was 72 years old.

Funeral Services for Dr. Thomas David Wiman will be held on Tuesday, September 01, 2015 , at 2:00 PM at Bell-Cypert-Seale Chapel. Internment will follow at Hillside Memorial Gardens. Services are under the direction of Bell-Cypert-Seale Funeral Home.

David was born in Roscoe, Texas June 22, 1943, to Mr. and Mrs. T. D. Wiman. He grew up in Snyder, where his father was for many years the principal of Snyder High School.

David graduated from Snyder High School in 1961, where he was the class salutatorian, a captain of the football team, president of the student council, and voted “class favorite.” He was also an accomplished trombone player in both the marching and stage bands, a talent he developed further at Hardin-Simmons university where he played in an unusual and nationally-known cowboy band. David graduated with honors from Hardin-Simmons with a degree in political science.

It was a while before David realized his calling to be a doctor, or before he let himself clearly hear it. After selling Bibles around the country, then vacuum cleaners, then working as a junior high school bus driver and football coach, David took a job with the Department of Housing and Urban Development in Fort Worth, Texas. He quickly rose to become assistant director of HUD operations in Brenham, Texas, and all his life he remained proud of the many homes built for those in need.

David decided to go to medical school in 1971 and entered what is now known as the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth. After an internship in Mesquite, Texas, he returned to his hometown of Snyder, Texas, and opened a family practice. These years of treating the citizens of Snyder were among the happiest of his life. He particularly loved bringing new babies into the world and often said that it was the greatest privilege of being a doctor.

When health issues forced him to give up his family practice in his forties, David went back to school in Kirkland, Missouri, and became a psychiatrist. After completing his training, he returned to Texas and spent the rest of his career working for the State. He was on the staff for many years at Wichita Falls State Hospital and then later at the North Texas State Hospital in Vernon, but he also traveled to many small communities that were without any psychiatric care at all. He deeply loved this work.

David was a soft-spoken man with a large presence. He had a charismatic mixture of gravity and levity that drew people to him. His compassion for others was obvious, and his lifelong ability to translate that passion into effective action, both in his work and in his life, was deeply admirable. His life was full, volatile, joyful, and painful, and his death has torn a hole in the hearts of those who loved him.

David was preceded in death by his parents and by his second wife, Phyllis Vickers Wiman.

He is survived by his three children, David Wiman of Abilene, Texas, Christian Wiman of Hamden, Connecticut, and Shanda Wiman of Fort Worth, Texas; four grandchildren, Ryan Wiman, Michael Dacus, Fiona Wiman, Eliza Wiman. He is also survived by his first wife, Frances Martin Wiman of Abilene, Texas, and by her two brothers and their families, with whom David was especially close: Truman, Bitsy, Todd, and Leslie Martin; and Robert, Theresa, Matthew, and Christina Martin.


Online Condolences may be posted at www.bellcypertseale.com