BORN

1935

DIED

2017

FUNERAL HOME

Ted Dickey West Funeral Home

7990 Geo Bush Turnpike

Dallas, Texas

David Olschwanger Obituary

Published by Legacy Remembers on Aug. 31, 2017.

David Irl Olschwanger, age 82 passed away on Wednesday August 30, 2017. Davi was born January 25, 1935 to Lillian Olschwanger and Melvin Olschwanger.

David is survived by his wife, Nikki Olschwanger; son Rich Olschwanger; son Larry Olschwanger; son Eric Olschwanger; daughter-in-law Francoise Olschwanger; daughter-in-law Donna Olschwanger; and daughter-in-law Lisa Olschwanger; grandson Zach Olschwanger, grandson Zev Olschwanger, grandson Jordan Olschwanger, granddaughter Marli Olschwanger, granddaughter Megan Olschwanger and grandson Chase Olschwanger.

David was preceded in death by; mother Lillian Olschwanger and father Melvin Olschwanger.

A graveside for David will be held Friday, September 1, 2017 at 11:00 AM at Shearith Israel Memorial Park, 4634 Dolphin Road, Dallas, Texas, 75223.

Serving as pallbearers are Zach Olschwanger, Zev Olschwanger, Jordan Olschwanger, Marli Olschwanger, Megan Olschwanger, Chase Olschwanger, Joe Viroslav, Norman Crohn, Sonny Hershman, Arthur Schonwald and Jay Silver.

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WRITTEN AND READ AT DAVID'S GRAVESIDE SERVICE BY ERIC OLSCHWANGER:

I did an interview a few years ago for a local magazine and one of the questions they asked me was, "Do I have a hero?" That was an easy question to answer, "My Dad."

Our Dad's mission in life was extremely simple. Be a good husband, father, and grandfather and just do the right thing. That's it. Very simple. Just be a good man. A mench. Don't EVER take advantage of people. He taught Rich, Larry, and me that the name Olschwanger bears a responsibility. When you hear that name, you want people to only have nice things to say. Be honest and ethical. Be kind. That your name and reputation live on forever. It's not about how much money you make that defines who you are, it's about what people think of you as a person that will endure the test of time.

He was the most honest and ethical man you ever met. NO ONE has ever had a bad word to say about our father. Our entire lives, people have always said what a nice man our father is. Literally, hundreds of you have expressed your condolences the last couple of days to me and my family. Reading the comments not only makes us cry, but makes us feel so good to see how much our Dad is loved.

For me and my brothers, he was our BEST MAN when we got married. He's the role model that we've tried to emulate.

Our Dad was born January 25, 1935, in St. Louis, MO. The youngest of 3 kids. Ben and Marilyn were his 2 older siblings. In 1952, our grandfather, Paupey, decided to move the family to Dallas, not too far away from Mt. Pleasant, TX where he was born in 1904. They had a family shoe store Downtown.

At the time our father attended SMU, but as he told us, wasn't thrilled that they had to move SO FAR out from where everybody lived. So far that it would be hard to meet people way out in the "country." All the way out to Desco Drive. Smack dab in the middle of Preston Hollow. Not too far from Congregation Shearith Israel.

Shearith is where we all grew up. Where we attended Religious School, where we were Bar Mitzvahed, and for Rich and Larry, where they married. I was married in Houston. Shearith Israel today is where most of my family belongs. I say most, because there was once a young dynamicRabbi from Shearith that I knew, that wound up opening his own Shul, Anshai Torah in Plano. Lisa and I decided to follow north.

One story Dad would tell us about this Jewish nightclub owner that came to Shearith to say Kaddish for his late father. The nightclub owner didn't know what to do or say, so our grandfather helped him out. The man was very appreciative and according to my dad, kind of saw a "father-like" figure that he never had, in my grandfather. This man came to Shabbat dinner at their house and even came to my Mom and Dad's wedding in 1959, over 58 years ago.

In 1963, since the shoe store was Downtown, my dad was fortunate enough to see President Kennedy's motorcade drive right by. 10-15 minutes later he was in disbelief to find out that the President had been shot. Imagine how shocked he was a couple of days later to see the man from Shearith Israel, the man from Shabbat dinner in his home, the ma from his wedding, walk right up to Lee Harvey Oswald and assassinate him on live television. That man was jack Ruby.

I always though hearing my dad tell that story was pretty cool.

As I said a moment ago, my Mom and Dad were married 58 years. They just had their anniversary a couple of weeks ago on August 16th.

Our Dad loved our Mom. Other than his kids and grandkids, that's all he cared about. He would always say things like, "As long as Mom is happy," or "whatever Mom wants to do." She took such good care of him, especially the last few years. He loved her more than anything in the world.

He loved and was involved with his kids, too. He coached all of us in different sports growing up. I know he coached many of you when you were young. He coached in the Dallas Chamber of Commerce, but back in the 70's, he was THE coach at the JCC or JSCC back then.

My brother's and I coached our kids and I'm still coaching one of my son's basketball teams today, because of my father's example.

Not only did he coach at the J, but he lived at the J.

We lived at 7533 Royal Place. Probably 200 yards from the J. We built that house in 1969, which was an excellent year, to be close to the J. We worked there. Whether as a tennis pro or a lifeguard, we all spent a great deal of time at the J. seeing "THE BIG O," playing tennis, or back in the rally early days, playing ariel tennis was a fixture. One of our Dad's true loves was the JCC, but his biggest love was his family.

For Rich, Larry, and I, he was our biggest supporter and fan. He loved our wives, Fuzz, Donna, and Lisa as his own daughters.

Larry said the other day, "What you see is what you get. He was so loving and so simple. Sometimes to a fault." We often laugh about the time a neighbor was walking her Sharpee down the Alley. My father, not realizing this would probably be taken the wrong way, simply said to the lady, "That's the ugliest dog I've ever seen!" He really thought it was so he just thought he would express that to her. We were like, "DAD! You can't say that to someone about their dog," but he said, "it really was."

He was old fashioned, but in a good way. Not once in my 47 years did I ever hear my dad cuss. I remember driving to a Ranger game when I was young and having a conversation about that. He said, "I know you know some of these words. I know them too. You'll never hear me say them, just like I better never hear you saying them." It was simply a respect thing and what he believed was the RIGHT thing.

All he cared about was his family. He even said one time, "I'm happy as long as I know they're in the house."

14 years ago, our father was diagnosed with stomach cancer. All cancers are bad, but this is one of the worst. When I spoke to the doctor back then, he told me that he probably wouldn't make it. Even though Dad was a soft spoken and gentle man he was tough. Remember, we're talking about a 6' 2.5" 230 lb. athlete. He beat it! But… it took a toll. He had 3/4 of his stomach removed, went through chemo and radiation. It weakened him. A couple of years later, he had the remainder of his stomach removed. He was hospitalized for 2 months. It was tough, but so was our Dad.

Over the next few years, other ailments would arise. Other surgeries and occasional hospital stays. Eventually, he couldn't drive and was using braces on his legs and a walker to get around. He got thinner and thinner, but even though things were tough, and he wouldn't allow us to know just how tough, in his own way he kept on fighting.

It was almost 8 weeks ago, he was diagnosed with a Glioblastoma. An extremely aggressive brain-tumor. This one, he couldn't beat. He knew the final outcome. We were given the timeframe.

A few weeks ago, someone said to me, "Now is the time to make sure you say what needs to be said." I understood, but at the same time, I told that person, "I've said what needs to be said my entire life!" We all have. We all have. We've always kissed our dad. We've always said, "I love you." We've always told him how much he means to us and he always expressed those things to us.

In his last few days, when it was getting hard for him to communicate and express himself, his love for his grandchildren really showed. Before my niece, Megan, went back to college, she went to see him. Even though he wasn't speaking very much, he lit up and managed to give her a BIG "Hello," when he saw her. A day or two later, his decline was more evident. His eyes remained closed and he wasn't responding to anyone for close to 24 hours. I decided to FaceTime my daughter, Marli, in San Antonio so she could speak to him. At one point, Maril said, "I love you, Papa." Immediately he responded back, "I love you, too."

I thought I was going to lose him 14 years ago. I'm SO thankful and I know my brothers are too, to have had him all these years to see our children grow up.

The toughest part will be not being able to call him during a Cowboy game or calling him to tell him something exciting about Marli in college or Chase in high school. I know everybody goes through something like this in their lifetime. I think we're lucky that is our first experience with this.

It was his request to have his grandkids as his pallbearers.

He was SO proud of his grandkids. Zach, the oldest, for becoming a successful businessman. Zev, for working on becoming a future veterinarian. Jordan, for graduating college and getting his first job. Megan, for going off to Tulane for college. Marli, for getting her first internship in Chicago this past summer and Chase, for being MVP for his varsity basketball team as a freshman last season.

To you 6 grandchildren, know that your grandfather set a good example for you to follow on what it means a=to be a good person. He's always with you and he's always listening.

I speak for my brothers in saying we hope our legacy as fathers and a good people can somewhat compare to our Dad's.

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Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.teddickeywestfuneral.com for the Olschwanger family.

In honoring David's memory donations may be made to the Jewish Community Center 7900 Northhaven Road Dallas, Texas 75230. All amounts are acceptable, but if one wishes to follow in Jewish customs donations in increments of $18 may be made for the symbol of life).

Arrangements under the direction of Ted Dickey West Funeral Home, Dallas, TX.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

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January 30, 2018

Rosalie Sanchez

Nikki,
I am so sorry to hear about David. He was,a wonderful man! My condolences to you and your family.

October 6, 2017

To Larry and Family - so sorry to hear about the passing of your Dad. Was always a consistent welcoming figure to all who came in contact with him and have fond memories of our conversations throughout the years when in Dallas. May his memory serve as a blessing to your entire family - Harold and Lisa Kaufman

September 3, 2017

Love you

September 3, 2017

Don Metcalfe

Dave was one of the finest persons I ever knew, and he will be very much missed.

September 2, 2017

Bob Caperton

Larry & Family - So very sorry to learn of your loss.

September 1, 2017

Robin Kennedy

You meant so much to me. The finest example of a man and father. You will forever live in my heart. I love you. Robin

September 1, 2017

SAMMY BICKHAM SR

DAVID OLSCHWANGER FAMILY.......MET DAVID AND HIS FAMILY IN EARLY 1970 ERA AS A NDCC BASEBALL COACH......DAVID WAS A SPECIAL THOUGHTFUL CARING FAMILY MAN ABOVE ALL ELSE.....WILL NEVER FORGET HIS WONDERFUL OUTLOOK ON LIFE AND SPORTS.....MAY GOD BLESS HIS FAMILY.....**MATTERS**--"WHEN OF HIM THERE IS NO MORE....IT MATTERS THAT HE WAS".......PEACE.....SAMMY BICKHAM SR FAMILY......BLAKE & SAMMY JR.......

August 31, 2017

Adrienne Svidlow

My deepest sympathy to the family.

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Funeral service

11:00 a.m.

Shearith Israel Memorial Park

Dolphin Road, TX

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Ted Dickey West Funeral Home

7990 Geo Bush Turnpike, Dallas, TX 75252

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