Archive | 2013

Harold Massingille was hired as service coordinator at Village of Brush Park Manor in October 2007. He is a lifelong Detroiter who came from a loving family that imparted strong values like character and devotion to loved ones.

His father, Jessie, worked construction as a young man but was injured and later worked at Eastern Market as a night watchman. He had a tremendous work ethic and made sure his four sons, including Harold, did too. All four boys worked with their father at the Market most nights, washing off the butcher’s counters. It was, as Harold described it, a way to “keep us off the street.” After work, he and his brothers returned home to get ready for the next school day. Harold’s mom, Betsy Ann, took care of her four boys and managed the house.

As a resident of the northwest section of Detroit, Harold attended Central High School. It was there that he met Gwen, whom he dated throughout high school and then married eight years later after having an on again off again courtship.

For 33 years, Harold worked for General Motors (GM). He started out as a clerk and worked his way up to become a reliability engineer, a position he held for his final 15 years working for the company. Over time, GM saw promise in Harold and sent him to the now closed General Motors Institute in Flint, where he received training on reliability analysis and other skills like measuring regressions on GM parts.

The experience of moving up the ranks at GM drove Harold to attend the University of Detroit, graduating in 1977 with a Bachelors of Business Administration (BBA). He loved college, but found socializing difficult, as he continued to work during the day and spend time with his wife Gwen whenever possible. Regardless, he still managed to form a close-knit group of friends that stay in touch to this day, some have moved to other parts of the country, but they still find time to re-connect.

While working at GM provided many great experiences, Harold says that it was not as fun as his work at Brush Park since 2007. As a reliability engineer, he would give his boss and upper management reports and not hear anything else about them afterwards. He rarely saw the outcomes of all the hard work he had put into reports and his analysis. Now, however, when he is able to get someone important services like access to food stamps, he sees the looks of appreciation on resident’s faces and knows he did something meaningful.

When he is not working at Brush Park Manor, Harold enjoys gardening, often with his wife Gwen. She is a retired seamstress who had her own business in Detroit for many years.

While Harold and Gwen did not have children of their own, they have kept a tight knit family and see their four grandnieces and nephews from Harold’s brothers quite often.  As Harold puts it, they are always at his house because that’s the way it’s always been. Their parents were there when they were kids too.

Harold would say his favorite book is the Bible, though he has many favorites like books talking about hospice and issues facing aging communities, along with John Grisham novels. One of Harold’s great passions is attending book signings, one time getting a picture with Maya Angelou when she was in town many years ago.

In the near future, Harold is looking forward to a writing class he is helping to start. It is promoting healthy aging, by encouraging residents to tell their stories.