Remembering a Colleague and a Friend

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 22, 2011) – "I'd heard about people being here today and gone tomorrow, but had never experienced it," said Ke'ron Bernard, who works at the front desk of the UK HealthCare Polk-Dalton Clinic, of his co-worker Sharon Williams. Williams died unexpectedly Oct. 26.

To honor Williams's memory, staff from the clinic will walk together in the American Heart Association's Central Kentucky Heart Walk, to be held April 23 at Commonwealth Stadium.

"We wanted to do something to keep her memory alive," said Heart Walk team captain Anita Hartsfield. "This is our first thing."

Williams, a 33-year employee of the University of Kentucky, was days away from retirement. She was part of a close-knit group working at Polk-Dalton, and she made a positive impression on colleagues.

"She was a good lady. She would do anything for you," said co-worker Crystal Clemons.

"We were close — she was like a mother to me," said Bernard, who recently lost his own mother. "I still think about Sharon. She was a good person who spoke her mind."

"She was so quiet [her last day at work]," remembers Bernard. "After work, we stayed and we talked … then the next day I got a phone call."

Polk-Dalton Clinic staff have participated in the Heart Walk before, usually with a team of four or five. This year, however, around 20 people are expected to walk in memory of Williams.

Polk-Dalton staff participating in the Heart Walk will wear buttons with a photo of Williams. They say Williams will be remembered as an important colleague and member of the community, as well as a mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, foster mother and friend.

"It's good for us to do this, to let her family know that Polk-Dalton and UK care," Bernard said.