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BORN TO TAKE THE STAGE

She was taken to Hollywood when she was five years old to audition for the movies. When told that “Shirley Temples were a dime a dozen,” she returned home but never lost her love of drama. Wherever she has lived, Jan Thomson has found ways to be involved in creative works. 

Following her move to Kirby Pines in 2015, Jan became involved in creating “off-Broadway” productions for the entertainment of others. Originally, she and several friends took “shows” to the medical areas of Kirby Pines. Eventually, she combined her creative ideas with the music of the Entertainers Chorus. Together, they are known as “Theatre in the Pines.” Jan has written and produced three versions of Broadway shows as well as three large Christmas programs. Her scripts sometimes involve as many as 20-30 actors along with the chorus. 

Marjorie Ann (Jan) Neely was born in a hospital in El Paso, Texas, in 1931. Her grandfather objected to her name, and it became Marjan and eventually Jan. Her family lived on a remote homestead ranch, along with other relatives, 87 miles from El Paso. According to Jan, Texas was still “wild and wooly” at that time, but life was good despite the depression the country was experiencing. “All of our supplies had to be transported over the 87 miles on a largely dirt road,” recalls Jan. “We had no electricity until 1945, and eventually one house acquired a telephone. But as children, we would grow up free and unsupervised.” School life was difficult after completion of the eighth grade in a one room school house. The nearest high school was in El Paso. One of the mothers on the ranch would rent an apartment in El Paso for Jan and her cousins to live in for them to attend school during the week. They would return to the ranch for week-ends and holidays. 

During the war years, Jan’s father was in Navy intelligence, and the family moved often, requiring a frequent change of schools. When the war was over, the family was living in a small town in Georgia. Due to a re-alignment in that school from 11 to 12 grades, and having just moved there, Jan became the only 12th grade student. That was a lucky break as she was declared valedictorian and was awarded a scholarship to college!  

Jan entered Bessie Tift College for women in Forsyth, Georgia, majoring in English as well as Speech and Drama. Midway during her junior year, she transferred to the University of Tennessee (UT) in Knoxville. On a Christmas break in 1951, Jan returned to El Paso to visit relatives. She was excited to be wearing an engagement ring she had just acquired from “Mr. Georgia.” A former high school friend intervened and introduced Jan to “Mr. Right.” According to Jan, “After four days, I was ‘sunk’ and decided to return the ring.” After returning to Knoxville, she and her new love, Dudley Thomson, had a long distance romance with only a few weekends together before their wedding. They were married in 1952 as soon as Jan graduated from UT. 

The newly married couple’s first move was to New York for Dudley’s job on Wall Street. During their 47 years of marriage, they lived in 14 different cities due to Dudley’s auditing business. Jan and Dudley became parents to four children, Teri, Tim, Tobin, and Traci, all of whom have had successful lives and careers. The “Terrific T’s” have also blessed Jan with 12 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren. Sadly, following a long illness, Dudley passed away in 1999. 

While living in Nashville, Tennessee, and with all the children in school, Jan decided to re-enter college for a master’s degree in Library Science at George Peabody College, a part of Vanderbilt University. Finally, the last move was to Memphis in 1962. Jan became employed by the Memphis School System, teaching classes for 28 years; retiring in 1999. Since moving to Memphis, Jan has been a member of the Presbyterian Church. Currently, she is a member of Germantown Presbyterian. 

Throughout all her moves, Jan has found a way to be involved in theater groups and organizing speech and drama with children and adults. In Memphis, she discovered church drama and has worked in that capacity for several years. 

Following retirement and the death of Dudley, Jan began to think of finding a place to live before her children were required to care for her. “My friend Mary Blanch Scott lived at Kirby Pines,” recalls Jan. “I visited and found a wonderful library, theater for movies, hand work, bridge, entertainment, wonderful people and staff. I saw here a way to combine all the things I love.” Jan and her church friends who live at Kirby have a strong bond and are affectionally known as “the Presbyterian Ladies.” 

The need to create seems to be embedded in the DNA of people, seemingly stronger in some more than others. When a creative surge is directed toward activities that will please or entertain others, it comes from the heart rather than a selfish endeavor. Such would describe Jan Thomson’s talent and creativity. 

Written by Joan Dodson, Resident of Kirby Pines.

We are thrilled to announce that the December Champions of the Month are the Security Department!

Under the exceptional leadership and guidance of our three Kirby superheroes, Carl Walker, Lonnie Scott, and Dondrianna Dixon, the Security Department continues to thrive and unite, ensuring the safety and security of our residents and employees.

We are incredibly grateful for our wonderful security team, who consistently take the initiative to look after us all while delivering outstanding customer service to everyone on campus.

Congratulations to the Kirby Pines Security Team!

LIFE’S GOAL: HELPING OTHERS 

When asked their philosophy of life, both Richard and Beverly Colditz enthusiastically responded, “To help others.” That has certainly been obvious from the number of years both served in the “healing professions”: Richard as an OB-GYN physician, and Beverly as a registered nurse. Together, they also would rear three wonderful children. 

Although Richard and Beverly did not meet until they were adults, it seemed destined that both would find their way to Atlanta, Georgia. 

Richard was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1939. His family, which also included an older brother, moved to Knoxville when Richard was four years old. He attended schools in that area, including two years of “pre-med” at the University of Tennessee. Fortunately, he was accepted into the medical program at the prestigious Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, graduating in 1965. While there, Richard was a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society. 

To practice medicine, following graduation from medical school, an internship and a residency in a specialty is required prior to establishing practice. Again, fortunately, Richard was able to do both at Emory. His clinical experiences were at the notable Grady Hospital, ending with three years of residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology in 1969. 

At Grady Hospital, there were about 900 babies delivered each year. According to Richard, not all of them made it into the delivery room. He tells of the time he was assisting a lady give birth on an elevator. The lady looked at Richard and asked him to suggest a name for the baby. Thinking about their location on an Otis elevator, Richard suggested, “How about Otis?” “That’s good,” she replied, “Otis it is!” 

Richard survived his year of internship, rotating through all the specialties. He later served as president of the Emory Resident’s Program and achieved a remarkable feat by meeting with all the powerful people at Emory and Grady, getting the salary of residents increased from $.50 an hour to $500.00 per month. Finally, a livable income! Richard’s life was not all hard work. It was during this time that he was introduced to, dated and married a beautiful, young nurse, Beverly Smith, who was teaching at Emory University. 

Beverly was born in Bessemer, Alabama in 1937. She entered the University of Alabama Nursing Program, earning a B.S. in Nursing, and began her practice at Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina. Eventually, realizing she wanted to teach nursing, Beverley moved to Atlanta, Georgia, to teach at Emory University. To enhance her qualifications, she enrolled in the Masters of Science Nursing Program, completing requirements in 1968. However, she had not been in Atlanta long when she was introduced by a friend to a medical student by the name of Richard Colditz. Following two traditional-type dates, Richard decided to make a giant impression on Beverly by inviting her and another couple to dinner at his apartment. He was the cook! This was his menu: standing rib roast, asparagus casserole, and a scratch lemon icebox pie topped with homemade whipped cream. The two couples then went to a bowling alley and bowled until 4: 00 a.m. It must have made a good impression on Beverly because she and Richard were married in March 1966, during the one week that Richard had off as an intern. 

Beverly and Richard were thrilled with the arrival of their first child, Stephen, in December 1966. He was soon followed by Cindy in 1967 and Jennifer in 1972. Life was difficult with a growing family, so it was necessary for Beverly to continue working during Richard’s residency. 

Following his residency, Richard and family moved to Louisiana where he served two years in the Air Force as Captain at Barksdale Air Force base, practicing obstetrics and gynecology. Finding a good opportunity for practice, Richard and family moved to Carrollton, Georgia, where he joined three other OB-GYN physicians at Tanner Medical Center. Their practice served the area of west Georgia. During that time, Richard served on multiple organizations which supported medical practice, such as the hospital board, and as chief of the medical staff. In 1981, he served as state president of the OB-GYN Society. Finally, after working many 50- hour weekends on call, Richard confined his practice to gynecology, retiring in 2009. 

When medical problems began to surface, Richard and Beverly decided to move to Memphis to be closer to their daughters. After research, they decided on Kirby Pines and moved into a garden home with their dog, Josh, in 2018. 

In addition to their three children, Beverly and Richard are the proud grandparents of four, all of whom are doing well in their life choices. Beverly has lots of hobbies which keep her busy. She loves to decorate her house and lawn for seasonal celebrations. In fact, she has a collection of 56 small Dept 52 Snow Village houses and figurines she loves to use in her Christmas decorations. Naturally, both Beverly and Richard spend time watching Alabama sports! Richard unfortunately had a bad experience with COVID which left him with problems of balance and memory, which has affected his activities. 

According to Richard, “We have met many good people at Kirby and are very grateful that we can receive good care for our various conditions. The move to Kirby was a good choice.” 

Written by Joan Dodson, Resident of Kirby Pines.