A man who has walked the halls of Parkwest Medical Center for 32 years, held hands and shared shoulders, comforted patients, families and friends, prayed with them, and counseled staff members on difficult days walks away from it on Jan. 28, 2022.

The Rev. Dr. David Bluford, 67, is retiring, a retirement well earned, to say the least. He has been the hospital’s chaplain since 1990 and also its director of guest services.

David Bluford

One job he won’t give up until June 30, 2022, is the presidency of the Rotary Club of Farragut. He is a soft-spoken leader at Rotary and at Parkwest. His style is low key and he has big ears for listening. He’s a fascinating fellow. Yesterday, on a beautiful November day, he rode his shiny Harley Davidson motorcycle from his home in Jefferson County to work and then to our weekly meeting at Fox Den Country Club. If Mother Nature cooperates, you will find him on his Harley.

What will retirement look like for him? “My plans are yet to be decided. As I have trusted in God all along my path, that remains my course of action. I may have more time to ride my motorcycle and maybe do some visiting of historical sites I’ve not seen. But first is to complete my service with the Rotary Club of Farragut for which the members have entrusted to me.”

Bluford earned his doctorate in ministry and his master’s degree in divinity from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary after completing his undergraduate degree from Carson-Newman University.

For 20 years, he was a TSSAA high school football official in Knoxville and East Tennessee. Bluford joined Farragut Rotary in 2000 and has held various positions within the club in his 21 years.

“Chaplaincy for me is service above self that plays out every day, in ways often unseen but always involving being present with another in times of need – and these are difficult times as well as times of joy,” he says. “After officiating probably as many weddings as funerals, I am reminded of the journey of life and how important it is to treasure every day.”

To explore membership in the Rotary Club of Farragut, call 865-659-3562. Farragut Rotary meets each Wednesday at 12:15 p.m. at Fox Den Country Club. Tom King, a past president of Farragut Rotary, has served at newspapers in Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and California and has been the editor of two newspapers.