Published: April 09, 2008 10:42 pm            

Friends & Neighbors: Debbie Chesnutt

When she suffered the sudden death of her father at age 7, Debbie Chesnutt had no idea that 36 years later she’d be helping her only child deal with the very same trauma.

Tommy Chesnutt died of a heart attack while riding his bicycle in the 1996 American Heart Association Fun Ride in Newnan to celebrate what would have been Lewis Grizzard’s 50th birthday. An avid cyclist and frequent visitor to the Bradley Wellness Center, he had seemed to be in great shape. Then abruptly, he was gone.

“I think God was ready for him,” said Chesnutt. “He never had any previous heart problems. Even if I had been there, there was nothing I could have done to save him.”

She and her daughter, Amber, were devastated. In the days and months following his death, they learned how to lean on each other and their family and friends.

“My co-workers, family and community helped me in so many ways,” Chesnutt said. “I found out how precious friends are. They were amazing. Amber was at school (at Auburn University) so we weren’t together every day, but we were always there for each other.”

Debbie met Tommy when she was 14. He was six years older and opened a service station on Highway 41 across the street from where she lived.

“I would go over there and put air in my bicycle tires. My girlfriend and I thought he was really cute,” said Chesnutt.

Several years later the two worked together at Judd and Sims, a fuel company, until Tommy left for Vietnam. After he returned in 1971, he called Chesnutt “out of the blue” and asked her out. They married in 1973.

In 1982, Chesnutt grew frustrated with her initial choice for a career and decided to go to Dalton Junior College and become a registered nurse. A stint as a patient at Hamilton Medical Center opened her eyes to the importance of nurses and their role in society, and she wanted to be a part of it.

“I saw how the nurses help the patients. They’re the front-line defense,” Chesnutt said. “I really didn’t put it together the effect nurses have on people’s lives until then. I know ministers get called into ministry. I think health care workers are called into the profession, too.”

After graduation, she joined the staff at Hamilton Medical Center, where she stayed for many years until she moved to Dalton Ear Nose and Throat. After four years there, she made the transition in 2004 from the private health sector to public health by taking a job at the Whitfield County Health Department.

“It opened my eyes. I had no idea there was such a need,” Chesnutt said. “With health care needs not being met, I see the role of public health expanding. Everybody deserves health care. It’s as vital as buying groceries, but it gets put off because people can’t afford it. Even with governmental cutbacks, public health is increasing.”

In February, she began serving as the nurse manager at the Murray County Health Department, a move she considers natural.

“My dad’s family is from Murray County,” said Chesnutt. “I have roots here.”

She believes her time with the Whitfield County Health Department prepared her well for the position, especially what she learned from Cheryl Christie, who serves as the director there.

“Cheryl Christie made a big impact in my life,” she said. “I saw what she did, she was a good leader. She made me think I could do it and I could possibly have an impact on public health in Murray County.”

When she’s not at the office, Chesnutt and her good friend Jim Beavers enjoy taking long car trips away from the interstate; playing with their Shih-Tzus, Koko and Sophie; working around their new house that they mostly built themselves; and spending time with her granddaughter, Sarah Kate. A second grandchild is due in September.

“We just took Sarah Kate to the circus for the first time. She loved it,” Chesnutt said.

She said when Amber and her husband, Robert, married in 1999, they made sure Tommy Chesnutt’s memory lived on in their marriage.

“They married to the weekend Tommy and I did exactly 26 years earlier in the same church. They use our wedding bands,” she said. “My brother gave her away just like he did me. We’re very family oriented and family conscious.”

Even though she’ll never forget him, Chesnutt said she has come to terms with Tommy’s death and is eagerly anticipating whatever her remaining years have in store, particularly when it comes to her public health service.

“I’m looking forward to this. It’s the next big chapter in my life,” she said.

        

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