Kirby Pines Retirement Community | The Pinecone

The Pinecone | June 2018 • 3 • welcome to 3535 Kirby Road • Memphis, TN 38115 All new resident bios are written by Peggy Gatlin, Kirby Pines Resident When you meet Joe, you’ll find out quickly he is quiet but very friendly. He is looking forward to making new friends and get- ting involved in Kirby Pines’ many activities. Born in Bayonne, New Jersey, Joe has spent much of his life in the north. He and his late wife, Marian, had a blended family of eight children, thirteen grandchildren, and one great grand- child. Our new resident is moving to Memphis from Tucson, Arizona, and we are glad Joe’s son, Bill, encouraged him to make his retirement home at Kirby Pines. A graduate of Penn State, Joe earned his BS in 1954 and his Masters in 1960. He worked as an educator for 42 years in high school and as an adjunct professor at community colleges. He was a science/biology and math teacher. He enjoyed teaching high school students because of the challenge of holding their attention. With that goal in mind, the students were challenged to learn because his classes were never boring. As a junior col- lege professor, he was named an “OutstandingAdjunct Faculty Member.” Joe is a veteran of the U.S Coast Guard. He earned the rank of Petty Officer 2nd Class and worked as an aviation electronics technician. In the near future, we’ll probably see some of Joe’s pictures in the Pinecone. He has a keen interest in photography and gar- dening. For sure Dr. Parrott will enjoy having Joe as a member of his gardening group. Traveling to Australia to visit his son has been Joe’s major traveling experience. With the beautiful sights there, he had many photo opportunities. Make a point to meet Joe and show him around our beautiful campus. Introduce him to some of our many life enhancement activities here at Kirby. We are elated Joe selected Kirby Pines as his new retirement home. J oe S tanek Bob Shea r s One of our newest residents is Bob Shears. Bob moved to Kirby Pines Retirement Community from Snow Lake Shores, Mississippi. He and his late wife, Sue, were married for 42 years. Bob has two children, two grandchildren and five great grandchildren. After attending the University of Tennessee and the University of Memphis, Bob went into the financial industry. He served in several executive positions, such as manager, CEO, Presi- dent and Senior Vice-President of various credit unions in the Memphis area (International Harvester, First South Financial Credit Union, and The Commercial Appeal). He was elected President of the Memphis Chapter of Credit Unions and Presi- dent of the Tennessee Credit Union Society. Aveteran of the U.S. Air Force, Bob was a Sergeant and served in the Air Force Reserves for eight years. Bob’s hobbies have been golf, fishing, and boating. He also en- joys collecting pins from his travel destinations and miniature farm equipment. To stay active Bob likes to do yard work and landscaping. He sounds like a good candidate for the garden club and will probably have some beautiful plants in the green- house as well as a productive garden plot. Traveling has been a large part of Bob’s life having traveled throughout Europe, Asia, and the U.S. He and his late wife enjoyed more than 40 cruises together. A proud accomplishment of Bob’s was being elected the first Mayor of Snow Lake Shores, Mississippi. He organized the police and fire departments and then he procured a grant to successfully improve the out of date water system. Bob is certainly an added asset to our community. Get ac- quainted with him and give him a warm Kirby welcome.