1. What are you doing now and what has been your primary work since you left Hillcrest? Currently I am most grateful to be able to work as a member of a large Hospital based Pathology Group Practice in Maryland (since May2003). It is a privilege to serve a diverse group of patients as a surgical pathologist and member of the physician staff at three community hospitals. It is a blessing to have the privilege to work in such an interesting and challenging field. I hope to continue my professional practice into my 80s (the founder of our pathology group still works full time and is 83!). I hope that my eyes can hold out; I need them everyday as I “fly” my microscope.
Reflecting on the past: When I graduatedHillcrest I attended Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC (“Sparkle City” as we called it) and majored in Chemistry (to this day I do not know exactly why I chose Chemistry; it should have been biology); I also took Army ROTC, so upon graduation in Jan 1970 I entered Bowman Gray School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, NC to begin a PhD program in Biochemistry. However, I was not granted a deferment by the Army and entered active duty in June 1970 in the US Army Chemical Corps. By the way, Barbara and I got married (right after she finished the U of Oregon) on April 4, 1970. I served three years in the Army. Barbara and I lived in Germany for two + years (our son Kelly was born there in 1971). The work in the Army was a great experience and I treasure those days as I learned so much doing different jobs: Supply Officer, Training Officer, Security Officer, and Physical Security Platoon Leader (I had a Military Police Platoon and 18 sentry dogs, a dog handler instructor and on site Vet tech). The Army sent me to EOD school prior to going to Germany so I had the thrill and challenge of doing demolition work for a couple of years. My unit, the 636 Ordnance Co (EOD) was responsible to disposing of outdated/unservicable artillery shells, missiles, rockets, etc and would work at Baumholder demolition range each month to earn our hazardous duty pay (an extra whopping $110 per month, at the time that was big bucks!). Barbara and I lived in a small German village in an apartment complex alongside three other American military couples, all with young families like us. It was a special time.
One of my fondest memories as a young lieutenant in an ordnance company was serving as a pay officer. I would pack a 45 pistol and drive my car to the Finance Office 20 miles north in Kaiserslautern to pick up the cash to pay the troops (we had over 100 assigned to our unit, so I must have picked up 20 to 30K in bills and drive back to the unit to pay the soldiers; very different today with paychecks being deposited directly into bank accounts. One day the Army flew me by chopper to pay a private who was TDY to a training site near the East German border.
While in Germany I learned about a scholarship program introduced by the military that would cover the cost of medical school. I applied and luckily was able to be selected to the Medical University of SC in Charleston in the fall of 1973. Barbara and I lived in Charleston for four years while I completed medical school. After graduation in June 1977, we moved to Ft Lewis Washington where I did my residency in Pathology at Madigan Army Medical Center. After 4 years residency training in pathology I was assigned to Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Augusta Ga for four years (1981-1985) as a staff pathologist. I transferred to the US Air Force in June 1985 and Barbara and I moved to MD where I spent 17 years in the US Air Force as a pathologists working at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology IAFIP) at Walter Reed Medical Center and had a couple of assignments at Andrews AFB as a hospital pathologist. I retired from the Air Force in October 2001 after 31 years in the US Military (15 in the Army and 16 in the Air Force). Our son Kelly is currently a Commander in the Navy, so maybe one of our grandkids would enter the Marines and our family would have served in the four branches of service! After I retired in October 2001 I entered civilian practice of pathology and hopefully can continue in this most interesting line of work for years to come, God willing.
2. What have been your interests or hobbies the last several years? I have always been an avid golfer and cat “herder” (Barbara and I have owned cats for years and cleaning litter boxes is one of my specialties!); I also enjoy learning the art and skills of being a grandpa for my four grandkids (Mya 12, Piper 7, Bohdi 5, and Caroline 5); they keep me “young at heart” for sure.
In keeping with my medical detective work, I love mysteries and especially British TV mysteries (Foyle’s War, Inspector Gently, Vera, Morse, Lewis, Endeavor, Inspector Lynley, Shetland, Poirot etc.) and have quite a collection of mystery DVDs/Blu-rays (I enjoy an hour or so of mystery viewing prior to bedtime each evening- sometimes I even take a nap before going to bed!). An avid anglophile, I love all things British and spent two months in England during the first Desert Storm War (stationed at Bicester outside of Oxford) and took Barbara to England in 2010 for our 40th anniversary; we stayed in Bath and London and saw Stonehenge and Blenheim Palace, etc. I hated to leave.
When I turned 60 I discovered that I had a real passion for downhill skiing and just love it. Barbara and I go to Utah each February for a week to 10 days and I ski with my brother-in-law as much as I can during that visit; I would like to spend more time on the slopes; it is so serene, relaxing and numinous skiing on Utah powder. Skiing, in fact has supplanted golf as my greatest passion when it comes to sports. I still keep up with the goings on in the major sports (football, baseball, etc.), but I would have to say that I could retire to Utah and ski in the Wasatch Mountains and golf in the Valley. One of the special moments on the slopes recently was early one morning as I was cruising down a run at Alta, I passed a porcupine walking across the middle of the run! It was amazing to see such a beautiful creature on the snow covered ground free to roam.
3. Besides Sumter County, where else have you lived since Hillcrest? Since graduation, I have lived in Spartanburg SC, Winston-Salem NC, Portland Oregon, Tacoma Washington, Augusta GA, Indian Head MD, West Germany, Charleston SC, and Brookeville MD (since 1985 Brookeville MD has been our home).
4. Now what are some of your favorite memories of your time at Hillcrest? Running wind sprints at football practice (especially when we were challenged to run against one of the coaches Great Danes!), playing on that winning football team my senior year as a pulling guard and punter (and getting a punt blocked during the game with East Clarendon when the two defensive ends knocked me for a loop). Also, receiving corporal punishment from Coach Pringles when I came in too early one day from PE (I had a choice of either running laps over receiving a couple of paddles on the rear; I chose the latter and it stills smarts whenever I think of the moment!) and most importantly, I still remember the day Barbara was introduced as a new member of our class; I entered a trancelike state when I saw her and I just knew it was love at first sight (at least for me!). It took me months to get up the courage to finally ask her out for a date (I did not have my driver’s license and would not get it until I turned 16 in late Dec 1964). Luckily, John McTamney was kind enough to let me double date with him and Adrienne on 30 October 1964 (my first date with Barbara was to theHillcrest - Lower Richland football game); the rest is, well you know the story. I have rambled on enough.
OOPS... Kris forgot his family and added it here!
I forgot to include that Barbara and I have two children: Kelly (44) (he is a Navy Commander, F-35 aviator and is stationed at Eglin AFB, FL and lives in Niceville, FL with his wife Merin and their three kids, Mya, Piper and Bohdi) and our daughter Lesley (37) who lives with her husband Dan and daughter Caroline (5) in Philadelphia (Lesley is a PhD in Art History and she and her husband will be moving to Lynchburg VA this summer; Lesley will be taking a position as Asst Prof of Art History at Randolph College this fall).
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