Dr. Charles Courts Tandy, a former member of the Dallas City Council, prominent doctor and longtime resident and champion of Oak Cliff, died Sept. 11. He was 95.
Tandy served on the Dallas City Council from 1987 to 1993, representing a district that included Oak Cliff. He had lived in the neighborhood since 1958 and spent time as chair of the Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce. In 2011, he was included in a mural of 29 notable Oak Cliff people.
Tandy grew up in Abilene. He was a U.S. Air Force veteran and served as a captain and flight surgeon, where he discovered a passion for anesthesiology. Graduating from Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene in 1949, he received his M.D. from UT Southwestern Medical Center in 1953. He completed his internship and residency at Parkland Memorial Hospital.
Tandy would then go on to work for 54 years at Methodist Dallas Medical Center, retiring in 2012 at the age of 83. When he started, he was only the second anesthesiologist on staff.
During that time, he wore many hats: Tandy served as a member of the board of directors, training chief for anesthesiology, president of the medical staff and medical director of the ambulatory surgery center. In 1988, he was elected to the Methodist Health System Foundation Board and served until his passing.
Jerome Garza, who was on the Methodist board with Tandy and lives in Oak Cliff, said Tandy’s importance to Methodist hospital and Oak Cliff was paramount. During his tenure on the Dallas City Council, Garza said Tandy was always willing to listen to his constituents and find a solution that both sides could agree on.
“As different people would want things, he would listen first and then act secondly,” Garza said. “He had a very good reputation for listening first.”
Garza also said Tandy’s experience as a doctor was integral to the operations of the Methodist board, given that many of the board’s members were business professionals with little medical experience. Garza said Tandy’s expertise allowed the hospital to recruit other doctors and allowed for a happy medium between the business and medical sides of the hospital.
Garza said Tandy was a legend who oversaw much change in Oak Cliff, but always stayed in the community.
“He really will be missed,” Garza said. “He’s a legendary leader, not only in the medical profession, but also in what he’s done in the community of north Oak Cliff. So he will very much be missed.”
In addition to his passion for medicine and Oak Cliff, Tandy collected rare Bibles, with some dating to the 1500s. The collection included a first edition of the King James Bible, a 1541 edition of the Great Bible, and a first edition of the Geneva Bible translated by Protestant reformers in Geneva in 1560.
Tandy donated the 75-plus item collection to his alma mater, Hardin-Simmons, in 2008.
Tandy is survived by his wife Roena, and his son, Glen.