Piecing Bits of Love Together
by Lindsey McMillan, photos by Molly Minter
Joey Pack and his daughter, Kimber, share their story of blessings
Joey Pack has always been creative and artistic. An avid drawer and painter, he learned to quilt several years ago when his friend Kathy introduced him to what he calls his new “creative medium.”
He fell in love with piecing together different fabrics and textures to create a palette of color. “I ask myself, ‘What do I want to see here, and what is the impact?’ Then I manipulate the fabric into telling a story,” he explains. The finished quilt becomes something he prefers to display rather than use as a bed cover. He hangs them in various spots where they serve as a story in tapestry. He really enjoys searching for vintage pieces of antique fabrics in various patterns like chintz and batik. Some of the blocks of fabric he finds are over 100 years old. These pieces each have a history, and Joey places them together into a unique canvas. Even though he pieces by hand, he sends the blocks off to be professionally quilted. He is particularly interested in stitching different appliques to the blocks and attaches these from other fabric pieces to integrate a new dimension to the quilt. It is a hobby and a passion that overlaps into other areas of his life.
Joey is from the Pacific Northwest and grew up in the areas of Seattle and Tacoma, Washington. He moved to Texarkana in 1991, employed at the time with MHMR. He was asked to provide HIV and AIDS education, and training was instrumental in helping to open the first clinic for HIV patients in the area. The clinic opened in 1997 and was successful in targeting the needs of Texarkana residents when the treatment and survival rate for patients with HIV was much lower than it is today. This experience led him to Special Health Resources, where he now serves as Regional Coordinator and operates the Texarkana Care Clinic. Adjacent to Wadley Regional Medical Center, the Clinic serves approximately 500-600 people per month. It’s an adult clinic offering psychological, medical, and dental services with additional locations in Longview, Tyler, and Paris, Texas. Joey says that the amount of underserved people in the Ark-La-Tex is rather overwhelming with needs growing each and every year. “This area is one where many agencies have to work together and do something to alleviate the community’s various needs,” he says. The clinic works on a sliding fee scale, is free to those in need and also accepts Medicaid and Medicare. Joey often donates the quilts he makes to various nonprofit organizations such as the United Way, Randy Sams Outreach and City Church.
CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) is another organization that is very close to Joey’s heart. Five years ago his daughter, Kimber, entered his life and changed it forever. He had never figured he would have children, and becoming a father wasn’t anything that he had ever considered until a situation arose where he and Kimber were connected. Joey was contacted by a family member who was unable to care for their baby girl who was only a few weeks old and in dire need of a foster family. Joey stepped in to serve as Kimber’s temporary foster parent until she could return to her parents. Within six months he naturally fell in love with her and began proceedings to take her in permanently. Situations with Kimber’s birth parents sadly did not improve, and Joey was able to adopt her on October 30, 2014, when she was 18 months old. Joey praises their CASA liaison Rita Smith and the case workers with DHS in Miller County with the process of allowing Kimber and him to become a family. Being a father and having Kimber has completely changed his life for the better. He says, “It’s amazing how you can change the life of one child. There’s so much joy in knowing how she is taken care of and loved.” Joey is still active with CASA and continues to share their story to inspire others to serve as a foster and/or adoptive parent.
An active kindergartner at Trice Elementary School, Kimber loves music, dancing, and My Little Ponies. Joey enjoys making clothes for her and primarily loves shopping for her via Matilda Jane. Kimber brings a smile each and every day, and she and Joey have a special bond that has seen many happy moments together. Ever thankful for God’s mercy and love, they just recently suffered a scary incident which brought them closer together. This past August, Joey was recovering from recent spinal surgery, and Kimber contracted a rare staph infection that caused severe burn-like lesions to appear almost immediately on her body. She was seen at Collom & Carney Clinic and then admitted to CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System where doctors could not pinpoint the infection which was rapidly spreading across a quarter of her body. In extreme pain, Kimber had to be transferred to Children’s Hospital in Little Rock where she remained for five days. Luckily, the infection responded to medication and treatment to heal rather quickly. She has since bounced back to being a spunky, energetic little girl who sings all of the time. A definite “Daddy’s girl,” Kimber also loves animals (particularly horses) and is enjoying learning how to sew. She enjoys taking part in piecing with her dad, and the two of them work together to create various projects. Joey says, “Quilting is a way for me to put all of my energy into needle and fabric. It’s a form of relaxation, reflection, and artistic inspiration.” For Joey and Kimber, their story of love and blessings is just one piece of a lifelong journey they continue to create together.
