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Dr. Ronald P. Rogers CHIROPRACTOR Support for your body's natural healing capabilities 270-384-5554 Click here for details 
  
Columbia Gas Dept. GAS LEAK or GAS SMELL Contact Numbers 24 hrs/ 365 days 270-384-2006 or 9-1-1 Call before you dig 
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Eulogy by Senator Mitch McConnell for his friend Dr. Phil Aaron By Mitch McConnell, United States Senator and Senate Majority Leader Dr. Phil Aaron was a friend of mine for almost 50 years. His was the face I could always count on seeing when I visited Adair County. He was caring. He was brilliant. He lived a life in service of others. It's impossible to miss the impact he has made in our commonwealth, in Adair, and in the hearts of everyone gathered today. I still remember when we first met, at UK. I was earning a law degree. Phil was earning a masters in American history. It was just one of many degrees he'd receive over the years. Phil collected college degrees the way some of us might collect stamps, or coins, or Pokemon. He's an alumnus of Campbellsville University, Centre College, and Columbia's own Lindsey Wilson College. He received a masters in public health from Yale. He earned a law degree from U of L and that masters in history from UK. Looking back, it's no wonder Phil and I became friends. We shared a love of history. We both had dry senses of humor. We each harbored a passion for politics. As young men, that passion took us similar places: first to work in the House of Representatives, then to the Washington office of Senator John Sherman Cooper, then down the hall to the office of Marlow Cook. But it's where Phil's career goes from there that I'd like to focus on today. Phil could have written his ticket just about anywhere and done just about anything. But he understood the words of Peter, in which each of us are called to "use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms." He followed his father into medicine because -- while he never lost his passion for history or politics -- he was even more passionate about something else: caring for those who needed his help in Adair County. Phil sometimes saw up to 200 patients a day. Most did not have insurance. But he made each of them feel special. He was kind and he was gracious. He knew the details of his patients' lives and asked after their relatives. It's been said that Phil treated his poorest patients like they lived in the White House. If they couldn't make it to the office, he would come to them. If they couldn't pay, he would still find a way. Sometimes he'd offer care for free. Sometimes he'd provide money for groceries. He even set up a barter program. Phil accepted payment in chickens and in ham. He traded care for quilts. When he received an entire shipment of blue jeans, everyone on his staff got a pair. Most days, you could find Phil bumping along the backroads of Adair -- usually on his way to a house call -- which is how we remember him today. Sarah remembers accompanying her father on some of those house calls. The condition of some homes shocked her, but it was her father's graciousness that left the biggest impression on her. "It's really inspirational to be around someone like Dad," she told me. "We're just so proud of him." The National Rural Health Association apparently agreed. They recognized Phil's operation as an "Outstanding Rural Medical Practice." But his commitment to south-central Kentucky extended beyond just his own practice. He lobbied successfully for the American Medical Students Association to send interns to rural areas to help underserved populations. He also got a nursing school started right here at Lindsey Wilson College, so that his nurses and others could better their education. As Columbia Magazine put it, Dr. Aaron's life "profoundly impacted medical care delivery in Adair County." Here was a man who shared his talents with others... Here was a man who opened his heart to the community... Here was a man who left an important mark on many... The attendance of so many friends and family gathered with us is testament to that. His was a life well lived, and we celebrate it today. We celebrate it today, confident in the hope that Phil now stands in the presence of the divine physician, having heard the words he longed to hear: Well done good and faithful servant, enter your masters' joy. Thank you. This story was posted on 2016-08-14 11:22:52
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