Thomas Eugene Kimball, MD – 50th Reunion Essay
908 Briarwood Place
Durant, OK 74701
276 Aikahi Place
Kailua, HI 96734
tekimball2002@mac.com
580-920-3738
Spouse(s): Mary (1981)
Child(ren): Stepsons Christopher (1969) and Timothy Thannisch (1970)
Grandchild(ren): Khrystina Thannisch (1987)
Education: Univ.of Oklahoma College of Medicine, MD (1973); Internship 1974 and Radiology Residency (1980)
Career: Diagnostic Radiologist 1980–2017: Kaiser Hospital, Honolulu (1980–1983); Durant, OK 1983–1995; Cooper Clinic, Dallas, TX 1996–2017
Avocations: Medicine, trivia, music, history, geology, cultural diversity, travel and philately
College: Jonathan Edwards
When I left Yale, I was not yet ready to stay away. I found all sorts of excuses to return yearly to New Haven from Oklahoma, while friends remained at Yale and had a place for me to stay. It took time for me to find that my having learned to learn did stay with me, that wise folks willing to be mentors could be found even away from Yale, and that, when a skill or subject was learned, the best way to really master it was to teach someone else.
Always, new lessons for me come easier having the perspective of Yale’s liberal education: being heavily exposed to humanities makes a medical education much more relevant, for example. And the perspective gotten from Bill Coffin’s prophetic vision in his world-class sermons has made my thinking about climate change, war, and so many social issues much clearer than if I had not been challenged by Battle Chapel.
One regret: Why did I not join a chorus at Yale, rather than starting at age 40?
My premed and biology major advisor, Al Novick, once shared that the real reasons for his best decisions became obvious only in retrospect. I have found this insight to be instructive throughout my life, and continue to share it. Going to Yale was among the very best decisions that I have made. I had only a vague idea at the time why it was where I needed to be. Medical school and a life in the practice of diagnostic radiology have revealed the real reasons to me time and again. I may have been smart, but I needed the perspective of being among folks whose intelligence put me in awe. I might have had skills in analysis and writing, but I needed the challenges of high expectations to hone these tools so they could be useful.
Thank you, Yale.
One last thought. Life always has surprises: the breathtaking feelings experienced when you first fall head-over-heels in love, the profound grief we feel when loved ones face death, and the subtle, relentless way that time chips away at our bodies. These sometimes sudden realities we each have to face, if we live long enough. Youth is the stumbling block in our understanding of these realities in early adulthood. So, Yale may have tried to teach me, but I needed life-experience to deal with these inevitabilities.
My wife and I now live part-time in Oklahoma and part-time on Oahu. I have new challenges in retirement, including beginning to learn to play my ukulele. I hope that we all have many years left and far more joys than we can imagine.
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