Joe E. Whetsell M.D.

Joe E. Whetsell, M.D. went to be with his Lord and Savior on July 29, 2021. Born February 8, 1931 in Dillard, Oklahoma to Lyndall James and Angela Louise Whetsell. He went to public school in Tulsa, OK and Houston, TX. Graduated from San Jacinto High School in Houston in 1949. He was selected the All City Basketball Player in 1949. He attended Rice University premed, University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX and graduated in 1956. He then joined the US Navy and was on active duty for 11 years and the reserves for 17 years. While in the Navy, he obtained his gastroenterology subspecialty in San Francisco. He was sent to Philadelphia General Hospital to help set up the GI program there. In 1968 he moved to Tyler and joined Medical & Surgical Clinic as Internist/Gastroenterologist (being the first gastroenterologist in Tyler.) He practiced medicine in Tyler from 1968-2001. In 1974 he married Linda Kay Connally. Together they loved traveling the world especially Alaska and Hawaii. Joe was a member of Pollard United Methodist Church, American Medical Society, American College of Physicians and TMA. He loved gardening and was a member of Tyler Men’s Garden Club, Smith County Master Gardener, Tyler Rose Society and Tyler Camellia Society. He was very interested in French wines and collected wines for many years. He gave many lectures on wines. He was preceded in death by his father, Lyndell James Whetsell; mother, Angela Louise Whetsell; sister, Yvonne Marie Whetsell; mother-in-law Janice Connally Corley; brother-in-law, William I. Connally; and father-in-law, Walter E. Connally. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Linda Kay Whetsell; children, James Albert Whetsell of Everett, WA; Michael Ernest Whetsell (Lynne) of Glenpool, OK; daughter, Catherine Anne Humphries (Dewey) of Bullard; daughter, Aimee Marie Beasley (Mike Johnson) of Mounds, OK; son, Joseph Kenneth Whetsell (Marion) of Whitewright, TX; sister, Aimee Kinard of Phoenix, AZ; and sister-in-law, Sharon Connally of Yukon, OK; 9 grandchildren; 2 great-granddaughters; Manu, the parrot; and Angie, the white standard poodle. Pallbearers will be 5 grandsons, Jordan Whetsell, James Whetsell, Ryan Beasley, Shayne Humphries, Ricky Jones and Dr. David Beaird. Honorary pallbearers will be Mike Floyd, Dr. Duane Andrews, Monroe Martin and Woody Woodson. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given in Joe’s memory to Bethesda Health Clinic (www.bethesdaclinic.org) 409 W. Ferguson, Tyler, TX 75702; Pets Fur People (www.petsfurpeople.org) P.O. Box 6151, Tyler, TX 75711; or The Hospice of East Texas (www.hospiceofeasttexas.org) 4111 University Blvd., Tyler, TX 75701. Visitation with the Whetsell family will be held Monday, August 2, 2021 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at Stewart Family Funeral Home, 7525 Old Jacksonville Hwy., Tyler, TX 75701. Funeral services will be Tuesday, August 3, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. at Stewart Family Funeral Home in Tyler. Burial will follow at Cathedral in the Pines Cemetery, 7825 S. Broadway, Tyler, TX.

Joe E. Whetsell M.D.

February 8, 1931 - July 29, 2021