Hibbs Kathy Buckingham 2016

Kathryn (Kathy) Hibbs Buckingham
Like most of you, I was born and spent my childhood and adolescence in Oak Ridge.  Growing up in Oak Ridge meant summers spent at the playground, the swimming pool, including ACAC practice and teaching Red Cross swimming. During the school year, there were piano lessons, ballroom dance, ballet (I was a dismal failure), Camp Fire Girls, and church league basketball.  Since I was the second of eight children and the first girl, my parents expected a lot from me, both academically and in helping at home.  With six younger siblings, I had a lot of responsibility at an early age for the “little kidsâ€� and even got up with them to give them bottles in the middle of the night.  With two scientist parents, there were high expectations for academic success, and a requirement to participate in every science fair.  I went to St. Mary’s School for first through eighth grades, developing friendships that remain strong.  From there, I spent a year at Jefferson Junior High and then on to the ORHS.  I loved ORHS and found it a very stimulating environment.  There were so many people around my age, and we were all trying to decide who we wanted to be, with lots of experimentation.
During my junior year I applied to be an AFS student and was chosen as a finalist.  In the middle of February I was matched with a family in Chile, with about two weeks to prepare for a year away from home, living in a country where I did not speak the language. The time frame was probably good, because I might have gotten cold feet.  More than once, in the midst of the excitement, I thought that going to Chile was the stupidest thing I had ever done and wondered how I could back out.  In the end, I went to Chile, learned the language, and came home a different person.  I have often said to potential AFS students that surviving and thriving for an AFS year would enable them to accomplish anything. At least that was my experience.
I returned to ORHS in March of my senior year, very “Hispanicâ€� and with no college plans.  Luckily, my mother too charge and scheduled an interview for me at UT.  I was accepted, even with missing a year, and I decided that staying in Tennessee was a great idea, since I had been away for so long.  Also, despite the relative closeness to home, my parents could not have found me if they came looking unannounced.  But it was great to have them near for an occasional home cooked meal or dinner out.  It sure beat the Krystal!
I graduated from UT in three years with majors in Spanish and Political Science.  I pursued those majors because I planned to be in the Foreign Service or the Peace Corps.   However, I had been bitten by the “Love Bug,â€�  and John Buckingham and I were married in August, 1969.
John had just finished Officers’ Candidate School before our wedding, and we moved to a small town near Ft Lee, VA, where John had additional required training. While there, I team-taught second grade in a Catholic school with an experienced teacher and had a great time learning about the children and how to relate to them.  For those of you who are wondering why a school would hire me with no certificate and only three education classes, I wondered the same thing.  However, at that time the Viet Nam War was requiring more and more military personnel, both stateside and in Viet Nam.  So every school near a military base was crowded and needed teachers.  Also, at that time, it was difficult for an educated woman to be considered for most other positions.
After Virginia, we moved to the Monterrey Peninsula and John began his Army career at Ft. Ord.  We were so lucky to be able to experience such a beautiful area and to live in a small house on post overlooking Monterrey Bay. Again, I encountered unwillingness to consider me for positions for which I was qualified  and was hired as a teacher. We had a wonderful time enjoying the beauty of the area, exploring Carmel, and visiting wineries.  We began to develop our love of good wine at that time. We had our first child, Angie, there, actually in Carmel.  What a place to start our life together and family!
After eighteen wonderful months on the Monterrey Peninsula, john received is orders for Viet Nam and I moved back home with Angie.  Luckily for us, the military was reducing the size of their force, and though they needed Quartermaster officers, they were also allowing shortened tours for those who had plans to return to school.  John had been accepted at UT Law School, so he was able to leave the Army in time for spring quarter. We moved to Knoxville, where I worked part time at a Montessori School and John studied and worked, first for a professor doing research and later as a law clerk. After graduation John joined a law firm and we bought our first house.
Once John had a relatively steady income, we had two more children, Mark and Lisa.  While I loved being with our children, I decided I needed to get out some and went back to the Montessori School, first as a teacher and later as Director.  My biggest accomplishment was moving the school from the basement of a church to an older home next to Western Plaza which we renovated. (The school is still in that location and apparently thriving.)  The process of working out the financials, looking for funding sources, hiring an architect and a contractor, passing all inspections, etc. was exhausting.  So I took some time off, after which I accepted a position at St. Mary’s Hospital developing services for older adults.  It was a fun job, and I discovered I was good and planning and developing programs and projects. I stayed at St. Mary’s for 16 years, most of which were spent in planning, with several years as Director of the Planning Department.  Then I accepted a position with a team that managed Ambulatory Services, including the Emergency Department and Laboratory and Radiology Services. It was the most difficult job I had had, but I also learned the most from it.  
I left St. Mary’s to serve as the administrator of a large cardiology practice, after which I accepted the challenge to develop the plans for and accomplish the merger and integration of two medium sized oncology groups.  It was a difficult job, as the cultures were enough different, that the physicians struggled to act as one group.  During my time there, new services were initiated, “leanâ€� processes were implemented to increase efficiency, and contracts with insurance companies were improved.  I was thinking about retirement when a small surgery group contacted me to help them find an administrator. So I left oncology to manage the surgery groups for over three and a half years, helping the group to be more efficient and provide excellent customer service.  In mid-July, 2014, I really retired and have totally enjoyed it, including traveling, spending time with our children and seven grandchildren, gardening and volunteer activities.  
Volunteer work has always been important to me, and I have served on the boards and been the chair for Knoxville Catholic Charities, East Tennessee Catholic Charities, and the Red Cross.  Our daughter, Lisa, and OB/Gyn and I began an annual medical mission trip to Guatemala 9 years ago.  She performs much needed surgeries and I serve as an interpreter for the doctors and medical volunteers.  Two years ago, John joined us on this trip and is hooked like we are.  John and I have also volunteered for Remote Area Medical (RAM) which supplies teams of volunteers in rural areas to provide health, dental, and eye care to the uninsured and underinsured. We are very active in Habitat for Humanity, and I regularly participate in the local Women’s Builds.   I am also on the board of an executive women’s organization and secretary of an Investment Club.  For my own health, I enjoy running and regularly compete in races from half marathons to 5K.  I did one marathon and decided that was enough!
Posted By: NS Administrator - 05-25-2016
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