By DAISY WASHINGTON / Community Columnist 

“Those who don’t know how to suffer are the worst off. There are times when the only correct thing we can do is to bear out troubles until a better day.” –Ming-Dao Deng, Everyday Tao: Living with Balance and Harmony

As she begins her story, Dr. Tommie Ruth Harrison reflects on what her early life was like. “My dad was a World War I veteran,” she said. “He had a very small pension. He grew a garden and sold vegetables to the neighbors. We never owned a car, nor did we ever have an indoor bathroom. Our poor economic situation must have motivated me to do the best I could by getting an education.”

Tommie persevered to graduate from high school. She worked several different jobs to save enough money to pay her tuition and purchase her books at the University of Montevallo. During her first enrollment, she had to hitchhike a ride in order to get to the school.

“I will be forever appreciative for all those who gave me a ride,” she said.

Graduating in 1966 with her bachelor’s degree, she went on to receive her master’s and in 1982 her doctorate from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

After retiring as a school teacher and principal in 2000, she volunteered with gardening groups, libraries and wildlife care. She discovered her niche at Shelby Baptist Medical Center. She has held a variety of positions and performed many different tasks, including assisting at the front desk, heart catheterization lab, surgery waiting areas and patient advocate and assists with Auxiliary fundraisers.

Tommie served on the Scholarship Committee, which allowed her to be involved with staff interested in furthering their medical education. Of her volunteer work with SBMC, Tommie said, “I feel good about my retirement. Volunteering gives meaning to my week and makes a difference in my life.”

In June 2018, she was recognized for reaching 3,500 volunteer hours by the hospital’s Auxiliary Committee. She was presented with a pin for her service.

A Master Gardner with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System’s Master Gardner Program for nearly 20 years, she supports the Community Garden program which grows vegetables for distribution to the community.

She makes personal greeting cards using her own love of art where her pictures become the decoration on the cover of each greeting card.

“Every day is a blessing for me,” Tommie said. Tommie and Leslie, her spouse of 57 years, reside in Alabaster in the home they built in the early ’70s. She has been an RSVP member since 2004, earned 3,193 hours and has earned Lifetime Member status.

In 2016, she received the RSVP Spirit Award.