(This week The Columbian-Progress spotlights Myrtles Nursing Center Administrator Gail Whittington.)
Q: When and where were you born?
A: I was born in Prentiss March 2, 1961.
Q: Where did you attend school?
A: I graduated from Vancleave High School and attended Mississippi Delta Community College.
Q: Where all have you lived?
A: I was raised on the Gulf Coast and grew up in Vancleave. My husband and I moved to Clarksdale and Greenwood, then moved back to Columbia.
Q: Where do you work? Tell us about your job/company.
A: I’m the nursing home administrator. My job is the oversight of the entire building. I like to say that I work for the residents; they are my boss. I see to their needs, see that issues are resolved where they are concerned and just the smooth running of this facility. I try to make it a good place to live and a good place to work for the staff who works here.
Q: What led you to your profession?
A: My husband and I moved back here to be closer to my mother, and I was looking for a job. There was an opening here so I applied, and I fell in love with the whole aspect of long-term care and what it’s able to afford the residents that are serviced by it.
Q: What was your first job?
A: When I graduated from high school, I went to cosmetology school because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I got my cosmetology license and worked as a hairdresser for a little while while I was in college.
Q: Have you ever had an unusual job?
A: I would consider this job to be an unusual job. You may be sitting behind a desk in a business meeting one day going over financial reports and before that day is over you may have to be a plumber repairing a toilet or working on trying to get a light to work in a hallway or any kind of personnel issues or helping a resident to be reoriented to where they are and why they're here. It’s all woven into one job.
Q: Who is the person who has been most influential in your life?
A: My dad, Rex. He practiced what he preached. He believed in family first. My father turned down promotions and different things like that to be able to spend more time with family. He instilled that in us. He was a dad that took his children to church, was active in church and lived that life ahead of us. I always strived to be someone I thought he would be proud of.
Q: If you could relive one day from your life, what day would you choose?
A: The days my grandsons were born would be days I’d love to relive. We were so worried, panicked, wanting everything to be OK and them to be healthy, so to be able to go back and relive it knowing that everything was going to be great — that feeling and emotion you have seeing your children becoming parents — both of those were wonderful days.
Q: What is your spouse’s name? What does he do for a living?
A: Loren Whittington. He is retired.
Q: Do you have any children?
A: I have one son, Jordan Whittington. He is the engineer for MDOT at Foxworth. He is married to Danielle, who is a fourth-grade teacher here in the city. They have two little boys, Harper and Finn.
Q: If you could have anything for your last meal on earth, what would it be?
A: That’s easy. Fried shrimp and crab casserole.
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
A: I would like to go to Ireland, anywhere in the country. It’s a beautiful country to me from the pictures I have seen.
Q: What hobbies do you like to do in your spare time?
A: I rarely have spare time, and now the spare time I do have is wrapped up in those two grandbabies. If it’s soccer, football or baseball, that’s where Nana is at.
Q: What do you enjoy about living and working in Columbia and Marion County?
A: That feel you can only get in a small town. Everybody pretty much knows everybody. Everybody is related to someone. There’s always someone available and willing to help if there is a need. It’s easy to find people willing to get involved in issues and problems and help to solve those. You don’t find that in a big city.
Q: If you could have lunch with anyone from your life or history, who would it be and why?
A: My French teacher, Mrs. Truax. She was a hilarious character. I’d love to be able to sit down and have a long visit with her.
Q: Would you rather read a good book or watch a good movie and why?
A: I used to love to read, but with my job there is so much you have to read every day with policies, policy changes and all the different regulations that you have to maintain and upkeep. Now to be able to sit down, watch a movie and not have to read is wonderful.
Q: What moment in your life has had the biggest impact on you?
A: When the grandbabies were born. To see that continuation of life and that feeling you have that you raised your child and seeing your child’s life going on, knowing that it’s going to continue, that just brings all kinds of thoughts and memories to me. That had a big impact.
Q: What would be the No. 1 thing on your Bucket List?
A: I want to take a train ride through Canada. I was reading an article about trains that run through the mountains, and it said you have to do it twice. You have to do it when there’s snow, but you need to do it again in the spring time when everything is budding and blooming. It’s like two different worlds. The pictures that I saw were gorgeous. I’d love to do that and see something different.
Q: If you could describe your morals in three words, what would they be?
A: Christ centered life.
Q: How would you like to be remembered?
A: I tell my staff about it all the time. To be someone that is remembered for their integrity that people don’t have to doubt if you’re going to do the right thing or not. You’re always going to do the right thing, not only when people are watching but always. Then just being a great Nana. I want them to laugh and smile when they think of me.
— Joshua Campbell
Pictured Above: Myrtles Nursing Center Administrator Gail Whittington loves the small town feel of living in Marion County. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
