County still saying good-byes

People in the area are still saying goodbye to loved ones lost during the deadly tornado outbreak last Wednesday.

Among those lost were a paramedic with a local EMS company and a second-grade teacher at Phil Campbell Elementary School, and it’s obvious both of them touched the lives of many people through what they did and who they were.

Vickie McKee served as an emergency medical services paramedic for over 20 years, and according to co-worker Jeremy Glenn, local operations manager for NorthStar EMS where McKee was employed for 14 of those years, McKee was a person he would never forget.

“She was one of those people I call a life teacher because she spent her life trying to teach others just how to be a human being,” Glenn said. “You could learn so much from how she lived, and she will truly be missed.”

Glenn said the NorthStar EMS “family” was immediately dispatched to the scene of the destruction in Phil Campbell, East Franklin and Hackleburg, where McKee lived.

“We were all waiting for her to come up because we knew she’d be the first one to be there to help,” Glenn said. “We were texting her frantically trying to see where she was and if she was OK, but when we didn’t hear back, we thought it was just because of the cell service. We couldn’t get through to anybody.”

Glenn said they would soon find out that McKee wouldn’t be heading to the scene to help them because she and her niece, Tina Donias, hadn’t made it out of McKee’s Hackleburg residence.

“The news was totally devastating,” Glenn said. “In the middle of mass, sheer chaos, we just couldn’t believe she was gone. We’re a family and it was hard to hear we had lost one of our own.”

Natasha Shackleford, McKee’s close friend and co-worker, spoke at the funeral service on Thursday.

“She was simple but extraordinary and fascinating; she was rough and tough on the outside but had the mushiest heart of anyone I know,” Shackleford said.

“She treated her patients like family and could take the meanest patient you’ve ever seen and have them smiling by the time we got to the hospital. She was just a great person.”

Shackleford said someone like McKee couldn’t be replaced and it would be hard for her and her co-workers to go to work every day without her.

“Vickie was a big part of this EMS family,” Shackleford said. “I worked with her for nine years and she taught me so much in those nine years.

“I just really appreciate everybody who showed up for her funeral and the procession because it was an honor to a wonderful lady and one of the best paramedics I’ve ever known.”

By the accounts of many, another wonderful lady was missing when Phil Campbell Elementary School re-opened its doors on Thursday.

Patricia Gentry, who taught second grade, was killed last Wednesday along with her husband, Don, when the tornado tore through their Phil Campbell home.

PCES guidance counselor Laura Voyles started working at the school the same year Patricia Gentry did almost 17 years ago, and Voyles said their school lost a very special person last Wednesday.

“I started thinking that I will never be able to hear the words ‘I love you’ without thinking of Patricia,” Voyles said. “She told everybody she loved them, whether she knew you or not, and she meant it. She truly loved everyone she met.”

One group Voyles said Patricia Gentry particularly loved was the children in her classroom.

“She called them her babies,” Voyles said. “She would have done anything in the world for them.”

Russellville resident Jania Cook said the Gentrys had been close friends of her family for the past 18 years.

“We first met them when they came to our church, First Freewill Baptist,” Cook said. “They were looking for somewhere to sit and we invited them to come sit with us and we’ve all been close ever since.”

Cook said even though they weren’t related to the Gentrys by blood, she still considered them family.

“We found out late Wednesday night about Patricia and found out about Don on Thursday and we just couldn’t believe it,” Cook said. “Neither my mom or I either one wanted to believe that two of the greatest people were now gone. My mom said she felt like she lost a sister.”

Cook, who is good friends with the Gentrys daughter, Heather Black, said she spent many evenings at the local TV station watching and supporting the Gentrys while they recorded their Christian TV program, “Wake Up with the Master.”

“They loved to sing, especially Patricia, and they did it all for the glory of God and to let people know He is worthy of everything,” Cook said. “It’s upsetting they’re not here anymore, but you can know that if you live for God, you’ll see them again someday in Heaven.”

Cook said Don Gentry was one of those people who had a great sense of humor and loved to laugh and make others laugh, too.

“If Don loved you, he had to pick on you – that’s just the way he showed he cared,” she said. “I can still see him in his blue leather recliner, sitting back and smoking a cigarette and laughing. He was such a great man.”

Cook said Patricia Gentry had been an inspiration to her over the years by the way she lived and the way she conducted herself everyday.

“I wish I could have told Patricia how she’s inspired me through her music and inspired me to live for God and to show people there is a God and that He wants to love you,” Cook said. “It will be my goal from now on to try to show people a little piece of Patricia by the way I live.”