‘God has been good to me’
Longtime volunteer says she feels at home at Franciscan St. Francis Health in Beech Grove
Nearing her 90th birthday, Kathryn Massing, right, continues to add to her 28 years and 35,000 hours of volunteer service at Franciscan St. Francis Health–Beech Grove. Here, she enjoys time with Sherri Walker, director of service excellence and volunteer services for the hospital. (Photo by John Shaughnessy)
By John Shaughnessy
It’s another Monday morning as Kathryn Massing flashes a smile and steps spryly into the craft room at Franciscan St. Francis Health–Beech Grove.
Ten of her friends are already working at three long, rectangular tables—knitting, sewing and creating the baby blankets, flower arrangements, and Thanksgiving and Christmas gift items that are sold to raise money for special projects at the hospital.
Coming to the hospital and the craft room is like coming to a second home for the energetic Massing, who will turn 90 on Nov. 11. She still drives, does aerobics, and continues to add to her 28 years and 35,000 hours of volunteer service to the hospital and its auxiliary.
“I’ve been associated with St. Francis since the 1930s when my mother worked here for a couple of years. And all my children were born here,” says Massing, a mother of seven. “My daughter, Paula, was a nurse here. I have a son, John, who has worked here for 30-something years. This place is like home to me.”
Massing feels a certain nostalgia and emotion these days as the longtime hospital in Beech Grove—started in 1914—is in the process of transferring and combining most of its offices and in-patient services to the St. Francis Hospital location at 8111 S. Emerson Ave. in Indianapolis.
Scheduled to be complete by mid-March of 2012, the move is one that Massing won’t be making, but she still plans to continue sewing items that the auxiliary has always sold to help the hospital—for everything from pledges to build a chapel to college scholarships for high school students who volunteer at the hospital.
She started as a volunteer at the hospital in 1983 after she had raised her children, and after she had retired from 15 years of work as an elementary school clerk.
When her daughter, Paula Curseaden, began volunteering, Massing joined her, starting a family tradition that now includes another daughter, Mary Sturm, and a daughter-in-law, Grace Massing.
“They’re part of the fabric of the hospital that you don’t see every day,” says Sherri Walker, director of service excellence and volunteer services at Franciscan St. Francis Health–Beech Grove. “They work here, volunteer here, make crafts, sell crafts and raise money for the hospital through the auxiliary. Everything they do touches St. Francis in some way. I’ve never seen such dedication to St. Francis from a family, and it’s all led by this one woman.”
Massing smiles politely as she hears the praise from Walker, but she prefers to talk about her love for the hospital and her appreciation for other volunteers. As she walks into the craft room, her eyes light up and her smile widens as she introduces the women who are making baby blankets, infant hats and Christmas items for the sales that are held every other Friday at the hospital.
Massing brags about each of the women’s talents, and they return the praise.
“She’s a worker,” says Barbara Cox, a volunteer. “She just sews and sews and sews. She just does everything for this hospital.”
The people are one of Massing’s two favorite parts about the hospital. The other one is the faith that she believes resonates there.
“The faith is in every aspect of this hospital,” says Massing, a member of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Indianapolis for 65 years. “There’s a dignity about the hospital. It’s in the people who work here and what we stand for.”
Walker sees that strong faith in Massing.
“The spirit of volunteerism is so strong in the Catholic faith,” Walker says. “This family stands out, but the mission of the hospital draws so many other like-minded people. The volunteers live the mission, and this family definitely exemplifies the mission. St. Francis is unique to me. People show their joy. We still have a lot of sisters here. I’m not Catholic so it was foreign to me at first. Now, I have a deep appreciation for all who live their faith here.”
Massing has lived that faith through her 58 years of marriage to her late husband, Leo. She lived her faith in raising her children. And the great-great-grandmother has lived her faith as a hospital volunteer for 28 years.
“In the first few years [that] I volunteered here, I was probably working 40 hours a week,” she says. “Now, I volunteer three or four hours a day for three to four days a week. I like getting up every day and having something to do. And there’s always something different to do. It helps that I’ve had good health.”
It’s all part of a life that she feels thankful for as she nears her 90th birthday.
“God has been good to me.” †
