Vim & Vigor - Spring 2012 - Gwinnett Medical Center - (Page 4)

W Joseph and Dottie Shafer When Joseph Shafer was a boy, his dad ran the only industry in Lilburn: a cotton gin. “Things were so different when I was growing up,” he says. “There were about 30,000 people in the whole county.” (Gwinnett County is now home to more than 800,000 people!) After graduation from Lilburn High School, Shafer went to work as a clerk at Sears, Roebuck & Co. In 1952, he married Dottie Brannan, a graduate of Lithonia High School, whose father owned the local Ford dealership. Shafer rose to become regional sales manager for Sears, and joined the Shriners and the Masons. Dottie worked as business manager for the dealership. They were both active members of Lilburn First Baptist Church, where each taught Sunday school. LIVING THE GOOD LIFE For 56 years, before Dottie’s death in 2008, they worked, traveled, bought real estate, invested and enjoyed the company of family and friends. They made a good life together in Gwinnett, despite some health setbacks for Shafer. “I had a heart attack in 1970,” Shafer says. “We lived in Lilburn then, and I remember Dottie driving me all the way in to Crawford Long Hospital [in midtown Atlanta]. Now I’m on my third set of pacemakers and hardware. “I was tickled when Gwinnett Medical Center ﬁnally got the right to do heart surgery,” he adds. “I like being close, convenient to the hospital. When the leaves fall off the trees, I can see Gwinnett Medical Center’s towers from my back deck.” Gwinnett resident Joseph Shafer plans to give the GMC Foundation its largest single gift PHILANTHR NEXT DOOR 4 Vim & Vigor · SP R I N G 2 012 THE

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Spring 2012 - Gwinnett Medical Center

Vim & Vigor - Spring 2012 - Gwinnett Medical Center
Contents
Phil’s Feature
The Philanthropist Next Door
Special Delivery
Get Real
How Far We’ve Come
Patient Survival Guide
Perfect Attendance
A New Day
Lean on Me
Intimidated by the Gym?
What Is Your Volunteer Style?
A Prescription for Relief
PrimeTime Health
Reclaiming Form and Function
Nice Follow-Through
Out of the White Coat
SPECIAL: Transforming Healthcare

Vim & Vigor - Spring 2012 - Gwinnett Medical Center