Dr. Frederick Dunham Kurrus M.D.

November 6, 1935 - December 27, 2018

Frederick Dunham Kurrus M.D. Dr. Fred Kurrus, 83, a general surgeon in Denton for more than 30 years, died at Good Samaritan Denton Village on December 27, 2018. Fred was born on November 6, 1935 in Sherman to Herbert F. and Dixie Dunham Kurrus. A graduate of Sherman High School, he attended the University of Texas in Austin where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. On June 5, 1957, after his junior year, he married Nancy Louise Dieterich in Sherman, and was accepted to the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston on an accelerated plan, where he received his bachelor’s degree in 1959 and his M. D. degree in 1961. At UTMB he was a member of Phi Chi fraternity and Alpha Omega Alpha honorary scholarship fraternity. He served an internship and general surgical residency at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. Under the direction of James D. Hardy, MD, chair of the department, he worked on a team of researchers in the early stages of transplantation, assisting in the first heart transplantation in a human in 1964. After being called to serve his country in 1966, he completed his residency at Darnall Army Hospital in Fort Hood, Texas, then served a tour of duty as a captain in the US Army at the 12th Evacuation Hospital in Cu Chi and the 71st Evacuation Hospital in Pleiku, Viet Nam, where he received the Bronze Star for meritorious service. In 1968 he and his family moved to Denton, where he began a solo practice in general, peripheral vascular, and laparoscopic surgery. He was one of the founders and original owners of Westgate Hospital, now Medical City Denton. He was a diplomate of the American Board of Surgery and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He volunteered as the team doctor for the Denton High Broncos football team for many years and served as Chief of Staff at Denton Regional Medical Center and Medical Director at Ann’s Haven Hospice. Survivors include his wife, a son, David Dunham Kurrus; daughters Virginia Leigh Kurrus and Martha Louise Teague; nine grandchildren: Julie Ann Hamilton, Bonnie Mae Serra, Dixie Louise Sonnier, Walter Burke Smith, Emma Caillet Smith, Harrison Frederick Smith, Philip Kincaid Teague, Margaret Louise Teague and Andrew Dunham Teague; three great-grandchildren, Adeline Louise and Rosalie Belle Sonnier and Everly Ann Hamilton; a sister, Jene Gravley; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Barbara Jean Kurrus, in 1985. The family will receive friends at Denton Funeral Home on Saturday, December 29, from 2:00 to 5:00. Memorials may be directed to Good Samaritan Denton Village, Doctors Without Borders, Ann’s Haven VNA, Big Bend Conservancy, or a charity of choice. Attributes of a Surgeon -- He should be youthful or middle age, with a strong and steady hand, as expert with the left hand as with the right, with vision sharp and clear, and spirit undaunted; so far void of pity that while he wishes only to cure his patient, yet is not moved by his cries to go too fast or cut less than necessary – Celsus, 79 AD