Meet the Browns:
Third-Generation Volunteers

Tuesday has been Christie’s day for as long as she can remember. For three generations now, her family has been volunteering at Liberty Hospital. She makes the weekly commute to Liberty Hospital where her dad was a cancer patient many years ago.  

“After he passed, my mom had such a good experience with the hospital and the volunteers that she began volunteering. She started by delivering menus to patients on all different floors. That was before they could pick it out on their phones.” 

And then Christie’s mother asked her to join her one day a week. 

Christie volunteered every Tuesday in the Volunteer Office and then the mail room with a woman named Maxine Carey – and Maxine ended up becoming her step-grandmother. 

“Maxine’s son, Jim, lived in California and moved back to Kansas City,” Christie says, continuing her story. “And he started volunteering here, and he met my mom, who had been a widow for a couple of years by then, and they got married in the chapel here at Liberty Hospital.” 

And that’s the story of how volunteering brought three generations of one family together. 

So much has changed at the hospital over the years and throughout those generations — no more paper menus; the TreeHouse now built — yet through it all, Christie and her husband, Jeff, have kept volunteering at Liberty Hospital. 

“I was working full-time, worked at my job for 47 years, and I would come here and volunteer on my vacation time or when I was working nights, usually when Christie was here,” Jeff recalls. We enjoyed having lunch together in the cafeteria. Then, I started helping in the Print Shop.” 

Christie and Jeff still enjoy having lunch together in the hospital cafeteria and appreciate the lunch the hospital provides on the days they volunteer. They enjoy riding bikes together in their neighborhood. They're both active in church, and their faith is the bedrock of their lives. He maintains the church vans; she cleans the church once a week, and they both work in the children’s ministry. 

They lead busy lives, but they still have always found the time to volunteer. Liberty Hospital staff, patients and other volunteers have become a real community for the Browns.  

“They appreciated and valued me, and I enjoyed the work and the relationships,” Christie shares. “When computers came in, I was the only volunteer they trusted with the finance office computers. They made me feel like what I was doing was important.” 

With the finance office now relocated, Christie is looking for a new volunteer role at Liberty Hospital. For now, she’s back in the Volunteer Office where she first started with Maxine, all those many years ago.  

They’re both retired now, and Jeff spends his time playing pickleball at the YMCA, fishing and volunteering in Pre-op and Patient Registration. He guides patients down the hall to where they need to go, chitchatting for the few seconds he has with them. 

“I try to make them feel welcome,” he explains. “Bring some comfort. People who come into the hospital sometimes have a lot of worries. I am there to show them God’s love as I escort them to their destination.”

Meet Tony: Building Things That Last

Tony, like Jeff, is a trusted volunteer in registration. He guides incoming patients to their destinations.  

“We might just be the first face they see,” Tony says. “A hospital can be a scary place for some people.” 

Tony’s favorite memory is being able to volunteer to bring his neighbor, a local doctor, for his blood transfusions and sitting with him afterward. The doctor has since passed away, but Tony treasures what he calls “the privilege” of being there for his friend during those days. 

“I’ve always worked, and I love to work,” Tony says. “I’m just in the comfort business now. I’ve been blessed, and I’m happy to give back.” 

Tony helped build the first Liberty Clinic. During the time he was the superintendent in charge of that construction project, Tony got to know many of the doctors, and they began hiring him to do construction and remodeling projects. 

The friendships he made and the work they gave him throughout the years enabled him to open his own business eventually. Tony was building things that last – and not just buildings. He was building relationships, building community and building trust.  

That's reflective of what Liberty Hospital does every day. 

Tony spent his entire adult life in Liberty.  

He is 75 now and has laid down his trusty hammer. He still occasionally builds something for a friend, family member, or someone in need, but less often. 

“I’m old and slow now,” Tony says with a chuckle. “And my hands are bad.” 

When he first retired, he says he stared out the window for three solid months then decided he had to find something to do with himself.  

He decided to give back to the hospital community that had been so good to him. Tony says he gets excited every morning when he puts on his vest and gets ready to leave the house.  

Staying active is good for him, Tony believes. He’s been at his volunteer job now for 15 months, and he hopes to do it for the rest of his life. Every day he goes in to volunteer, he comes home feeling good. 

“Doing this keeps me moving,” Tony says. “I can usually get 10 or 15,000 steps in a shift.” 

If you want to feel good, too, Tony says: “Come see me, and we’ll put you to work.”