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A BLESSED LIFE

November is the month in which we as a nation pay special tribute to the veterans of the armed services and their families. We have many veterans who live at Kirby Pines and we are thankful every day for their sacrifices. This is the story of one of them, Dr. Thomas Hickey.

Tom has many titles: doctor, psychologist, professor, businessman, musician, father and veteran. He has had a full life with challenges and tragedies. But, in Tom’s words, “I have lived a blessed life”. Tom was born and grew up in Jonesboro, Arkansas. According to Tom, “You knew everybody and had the opportunity to experiment with almost everything”. He enjoyed being able to walk to the movies, see a double feature for a dime and enjoy a bag of popcorn for a nickel. Since both parents worked, Tom was left in the care of the maid who basically allowed Tom to live as a “free spirit”. Tom wonders how he survived all the mishaps of his childhood, remembering at age 6 being dared to drop a match in a vacant field. The nearby houses nearly caught fire. Fearing the worst, Tom ran home and hid under the kitchen stove. His parents were able to convince him that bad deeds have consequences. He remained good friends with his childhood friends for many years.

Tom inherited his musical talents from both parents. His father played all musical instruments except strings. His mother, a contralto, was in demand as a soloist. At the age of 17, Tom was invited to play in the Arkansas Symphony. Following graduation from high school, Tom enrolled at Northwestern University to study music. However, he fell in love with a girl from Dallas and decided to transfer to SMU to work on a business degree. When he graduated with a BBA, the Korean War was going on and he enlisted in the Navy. He was selected to play in the Navy Band and spent 4 years in Washington, D.C. and New York City. Being in the band was demanding but also afforded Tom the opportunity to meet professional musicians as well as obtain free tickets to all events. In NYC he had encounters with such stars as Ethyl Merman and Judy Garland.

Tom wanted to marry but needed more income to support a family. He applied to OCS and was transferred to the Navy Supply Corps in Jacksonville, Florida. He married and had a son, James while stationed there.

Following discharge from the Navy, Tom moved with his family back to Jonesboro to take over his father’s advertising business. Becoming dissatisfied with a business life, he took advantage of the VA counseling services. They recommended a future in psychology. Tom took their advice and enrolled in psychology at Vanderbilt University, finishing with a PH.D in 4 years. Tom used this degree in several fields, first with a management consulting firm and later teaching at the University of Arkansas and Centenary College in Shreveport, Louisiana. It was here “during a mid-life crisis” that Tom and his wife divorced. Tom moved to the VA Hospital in Little Rock as a psychologist. At the VA, he fell “madly in love” with his co-therapist, Sherry Faulkner. However a great offer was made to become the Clinical Director of East Arkansas Mental Health Center. Tom accepted and moved to West Memphis, AR. While there, he served as President of the Arkansas Psychological Association and had the opportunity to introduce Bill Clinton at one of their meetings. In 1976, after 5 years of long range dating, Tom and Sherry married.

Following the cut of funds and closures of mental health centers, Tom was again seeking employment. An opportunity became available with the Memphis Police Department as they were seeking someone to set up psychological services. Of this, Tom says, “I never thought I would like working with cops so much, but they are a great bunch of guys. I did a little bit of everything from consulting with the Chiefs, counseled officers and their families, screen-tested new applicants, did crisis intervention and talked people down off the bridge. It was never dull”. In 1979, Tom’s son James was killed by a drunk driver and in 2016, on their 40th wedding anniversary, Tom’s wife Sherry died of ovarian cancer.

After retirement from the MPD, Tom became tired of living along and because he could not cook, investigated several retirement facilities. He chose Kirby Pines. “I made the right choice”, says Tom. Presently, Tom has 2 step-daughters who live nearby, 6 grandchildren (1 deceased) and 4 great-grandchildren. Tragedy struck again when Tom’s oldest grandchild, a grandson, died while running a marathon in Memphis. He had just graduated from law school and was looking forward to a clerkship with a Federal Appellate Judge.

Tom enjoys playing golf, bridge, poker, ping pong, trivia and especially his music. He continues to take saxophone lessons in Jazz. He plays the saxophone with The Memphis Wind Symphony and clarinet with Santifica, the band at St. George Episcopal Church and has entertained with both instruments at Kirby Pines. Also, Tom says, “I love to travel and have traveled extensively to all 50 states, Europe and South America. I continued to do testing for small police departments and security firms after my retirement from MPD but gave that up so I could travel”.

Thank you Tom for your service to our country, to our police department and for your decision to move to Kirby Pines. You have enriched our lives with your beautiful music and your warm and generous personality. We are blessed to have you at Kirby Pines!

Written by Joan Dodson, Resident, Kirby Pines

A Ray of Sunshine

Roll out the welcome mat! This is the current mantra of Barbara Logan. Although she says Kirby Pines is a friendly place, she would like to see more visiting and socializing in each other’s homes. “I think our homes offer an opportunity to really get to know each other better and to form special friendships”, says Barbara. To know Barbara is to feel that optimism and joy radiating from her. Perhaps this stems primarily from her strong faith in God. She currently worships with Germantown Presbyterian Church.

Barbara moved to Kirby Pines from Colorado Springs in 2016. She chose Kirby Pines over other places because of the “happy atmosphere” and the numerous opportunities to interact with other residents. Barbara quickly entrenched herself into all things Kirby and has formed many friendships. One of her friends said, “I was drawn to Barbara because she is always positive and I love her infectious laugh! Overall, she is a very fun friend”. When Barbara was asked what she liked most about living at Kirby, she replied, “I like Kirby because it is a happy place and I appreciate the excellent medical care I receive here”.

Certainly, many of Barbara’s characteristics were formed from her childhood. Born in a small town in Louisiana, life was hard but idyllic. Summers were spent climbing trees, riding bicycles and horses (bareback) and using her imagination to make up games to include as many children as possible. She recalls being talked into eating a green persimmon. One time was enough! Because both her father and mother were teachers/principals, there was no income during the summer months. Life was sustained with the family garden and a tight budget.

At the age of eleven, Barbara, along with her parents and younger sister, Elizabeth, moved to Ruston, Louisiana. It was here, at Louisiana Tech, Barbara graduated with a B.S. in Education and met the love of her life, Jim Logan, an art major. After marriage, their first move was to Nashville where Jim had a scholarship to the prestigious Vanderbilt George Peabody College. After graduation, Jim joined the U.S. Air Force.

Eventually, after living in various places, including outside the states, the family moved to Colorado Springs for Jim to serve at the Air Force Academy. Barbara always taught school wherever they lived, introducing her to a variety of challenges. During the midst of all this, two children, Whit and Cheryl, were added to the family. Barbara earned a Masters from University of Colorado while the youngest child was in college. Barbara is now grandmother to five grandchildren.

Barbara retired from teaching after 35 years. Her husband, Jim, retired after 20 years in the Air Force. “Just for the fun of it and because Jim was such an excellent watercolorist, we decided to open an art gallery”, says Barbara. While Jim painted all day, Barbara ran the gallery. “It was certainly a learning experience but fun”. Sadly, Jim passed away in 2000. Barbara continued living in Colorado until her move to Memphis and Kirby Pines. Her daughter lives close by in Collierville.

Barbara’s life has been very active. Living in various places and traveling the world has made her appreciate what she has. Life was never dull, from attending the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, surviving five typhoons while living in Guam, becoming rabid tiger fans of LSU, jeeping in the jungles of Panama and the mountains of Colorado. She also fondly recalls entertaining 76 USAF officers and wives as well as having private showings of Jim’s paintings in their home. While in Guam, they hosted a student from Kusaie so he could obtain a high school diploma.

Of this, Barbara says, “Through this active life that we have lived as a family, we were so blessed with being able to find churches and groups of believers that helped us mature and realize the significance of our belief in Jesus Christ and the many times we have been rescued by a loving God.”

Barbara’s hobbies are reading, needlepoint, baking and having friends in for fun and fellowship. One of her needlepoint pieces of the nativity scene is beautifully framed and displayed in her home. She is certainly faithful in sending notes to others to thank them or to encourage them.

Hopefully, we can learn a lesson from Barbara – that our outlook on life is our own choosing and not the responsibility of others. We are so fortunate at Kirby Pines to have someone like Barbara who sets an example of sharing, service and hospitality.

Written by Joan Dodson, Resident, Kirby Pines

The Perfect Blend

A 50-year marriage, a unified faith in God and a desire to help others. Such describes Mary Ann and Roy Thurmond. Additionally, their philosophy of life is that relationships are more important than “the doings.” Yet, when one examines a short biography of their lives, the perfect blend of both of these elements emerge.

Mary Ann Faris grew up in Conway, Arkansas, where her father was a professor at Hendrix College, as well as a renowned author and photographer. Her mother, an elementary school teacher, wrote the scripts to accompany her father’s photographs. Together, they appeared in several national publications such as LIFE Magazine and The New York Times. When Mary Ann was 8 years old, her father was invited to photograph an art exhibit at Rohwer, one of the 10 internment camps set up to confine Japanese Americans after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The photographs were published in a book, Beauty Behind Barbed Wire. Mary Ann continues today, along with her brother Tim, to share these photos through a traveling exhibit, compiled by an Arkansas State University history professor. The exhibit has been shown in several locations, including the Presidio in California and was written up in Memphis Magazine in March, 2017 when being on view at the Memphis Botanic Garden. Because of her parents’ influence, Mary Ann grew up with her own interest in writing and photography. She dedicated her life to Christ at a camp revival on Petit Jean Mountain in Arkansas at age 11.

Following graduation from Hendrix, Mary Ann held several positions with the Baptist Hospital System, first in Little Rock and later in Memphis. While working as Student Activities Director at Baptist School of Nursing, she had the opportunity to chaperone 3 planeloads of students who sang at various functions during the 1964 World’s Fair in New York City. She later accompanied 5 students to Berne, Switzerland for a Baptist Youth Conference. Mary Ann’s other employment included 5 years on the staff of Christ United Methodist Church and then as Administrative Manager/Partner for 30 years with a management consulting firm.

Mary Ann, who was still single at age 31, met Roy in 1968, a year following the death of his wife Alice who died at age 30. He was left with 2 small children, a boy and a girl, ages 1 and 3. Mary Ann and Roy dated only 3 ½ weeks before deciding to marry, surprising her parents who would then become sudden grandparents! Together they had another child, a daughter, and 50 years later, the 3 Thurmond children are all grown and living out-of-state. There are now 3 grandchildren, 3 step-grandchildren and 5 step-great-grandchildren.

Roy was born in his grandmother’s home in Columbus, Georgia. He has one sister, Reba, living in West Virginia. His mother was a seamstress and his father was treasurer of a textile mill. His father brought metal scraps home and made such things as wagons and even a roller coaster for their back yard. He spent his childhood playing football and basketball in backyards and on dirt courts. His height proved to be a real plus in helping his school win several championships in basketball. At the age of 11, Roy and his sister attended a church revival and dedicated their lives to Christ.

Roy attended Georgia Tech, majoring in civil engineering, but later transferring to management. Following graduation, Roy went into the Army National Guard for 6 months of active duty and then married his college sweetheart Alice. They moved to North Carolina where Roy worked at Burlington Industries as an accountant. Roy was active in the Jaycees, volunteering when they sponsored the Greater Greensboro golf tournaments. He also earned a CPA designation and moved his family to Memphis. Here he worked for an accounting firm and Union Planters Bank. Roy finished his professional career by working as a certified financial planner for J. H. Shoemaker and Co. for 25 years.

Roy’s love for bike riding has taken him on eleven 150-mile Multiple Sclerosis benefit rides, plus riding across 3 states. Following in his father’s footsteps, Roy became a “man of all trades” – able to fix almost anything. He has always loved helping people, even starting a ministry at their church called Helping Hands.

All through their marriage, Mary Ann and Roy have focused their energies around activities of their church, Christ United Methodist. Just a few highlights include Mary Ann’s being active in United Methodist Women and serving as President, Secretary, and email correspondent of the Lamplighter S.S. class. Roy, likewise is very active and enjoys ushering, as well. He participated on a Methodist District Disaster Response team. Their motto was “Have chain saw, will travel,” as they took tractors and their saws to clear devastated areas following severe storms.

So, what is next for this couple? Roy loves woodworking and repairing items. (Watch out, Roy, you are about to be bombarded with new friends!) Mary Ann loves growing flowers, learning Mahjong, line dancing, and writing; and, of course, working with her father’s photographs and continuing with the Rohwer story.

The Thurmonds feel strongly that God has a purpose for their lives and they know that fulfillment comes from that commitment. Kirby Pines has become their new home and they are very happy here, surrounded by such wonderful caring people and staff. A favorite quote of Mary Ann’s is “When a butterfly flaps its wings in South America, it affects the weather in Florida.” This means, according to Mary Ann, that we are all connected in some way and our actions, no matter how small, make a difference! She further states that “We have a deep gratitude for our past relationships and for our new ones here! God has blessed us to live among you, doing life together – and those are the ‘doings’ that count!”