A Tapestry of Service

From Ministry to Medicine Bob Williams, 84, embraces nursing and community gratitude

Bob Williams entered the classroom and took a seat, trying not to focus on the butterflies in his stomach. Like a lot of first-year nursing students, Williams had the opening-day jitters over this new adventure, something many aspiring nurses feel in private.

But for Williams, there was no place to hide. At 84, he stood out from the rest of the class and continues to, although the shock of entering the classroom after so many years in his ministry career was something he not only felt. His classmates were intrigued and inspired by it as well.

"I definitely stood out,” Williams said. “It was an adjustment for everybody. "Williams’ decision to begin his journey toward a nursing degree is just the latest chapter of a life lived in service to others over self. An Episcopal priest, Williams served for decades as a Marine chaplain, which took him across the country and around the world to minister to service men and women.

Once his military career ended, he landed in Mountain Home where he became pastor of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, serving the faithful and tending to their spiritual needs. He retired once, but a lack of available clergy drew him back into active service. As the church’s website reads, “He’d like to retire again.”

As part of his duties as pastor, Williams found himself regularly visiting the hospital to call on the sick and give them comfort. That work led him to volunteer hours, and today he spends one day a week at the reception desk in the surgery department where he greets patients and their families. “I had to cut back a little when I started nursing school,” he said. “I just go wherever they send me.”

As for his decision to pursue a nursing degree in the first place, Willaims said he simply saw it as another way to improve how he served people through the channels of what he was already doing. “I was volunteering in a hospital, and I wanted to have a better understanding of the things the people were going through,” he said. “I was coming in contact with medical conditions every day, and I believed I could be a better resource if I had a little more education.

"Williams’ service doesn’t go unnoticed. The mother of an employee recently made him a patriotic quilt as a gift, and he’s also well-known for spreading good cheer as the bartender during fundraisers for the Baxter Health Community Houses. He encourages more people to spend a little time in service to others. "There’s always something people can do to get involved,” he said. “I would tell anyone looking for a way to give back to the community to look at the hospital first.”