Missy (Hatcher) Grider was born in November of 1970 and lived in beautiful Columbia, KY until her death. Her father was Ken Hatcher, her mother is Peggy Lawson, and her Step-Father was Stanley Lawson. She had two bothers and two sisters, and she attended Adair County High School as a teenager. She grew into a strong, kind, and passionate woman and became a beloved member of our community. She married Todd Grider and had a daughter, Paige, whom she loved dearly. She was a member of Columbia Christian Church, served on the local relay for life committee, and worked as the office manager of Coffey's Veterinary Center for 15 years. Missy was an amazing office manager, and a source of strength and stability, compassion, and can-do-attitude for Dr. Janice Coffey, her staff, and her clientele. Missy was the first voice clients would hear on the phone, the first face they would see as they entered the office, and the person who wished them well at the end of their visit. To say she was fully integrated into the Coffey's Vet Center experience would be a drastic understatement. Missy's sudden cancer diagnosis, rapid decline in health, and untimely death in January of 2021 rocked our community and Coffey's Vet Center to their core. She was only 50 years old.
Missy was a deeply loving person. She loved her family, and often brought Paige to work and spent quality time with her between appointments. She loved animals, and would often go above and beyond to assist Dr. Coffey in their care. She gladly took in orphaned kittens and puppies and bottle-fed them outside of work hours. She was a diligent patient advocate, and she often assisted medical staff in patient monitoring and treatment. Missy would move heaven and earth to get animals the care they needed. She worked very hard to find solutions that would help the animal and work within the budget of the client. Speaking of clients, Missy also loved helping people. She built strong bonds with many clients over the years and would help them in any way she could. Outside of work, she supported programs and charities designed to help sick and destitute people. According to Dr. Coffey, Missy was "one of the better angels of our time."
When Missy passed away, she left a very obvious and painful hole in her family, her community, and the Coffey's Vet Center team. She was not only Dr. Coffey's office manager, but she was also her very close friend. Dr. Coffey considered Missy to be an honorary member of her family, and her absence is still felt every single day. Dr. Coffey wanted to channel the emotion generated by Missy's death into something positive - something that would help the community and animals Missy loved so much. She wanted to "ensure that Missy's heart will always live here." Dr. Coffey took that idea of Missy's Heart and built the foundation of this charity in her name. HEART stands for Helping Every Animal Receive Treatment, which is the core of what Missy did every day at the office. The four tenets of this organization are designed to achieve that singular goal by supporting different aspects of pet care. Just like Missy supported and assisted clients, tenet one provides help to members of the community so they can get their animals the care they need. Just like Missy took in orphaned and stray animals, tenet two provides second chances for homeless pets in our community. Just like Missy supported and helped train new veterinary staff, tenet three makes it easier for students in our community to receive veterinary training. And finally, just like Missy helped educate clients so that their pets got the best care at home, tenet four provides answers and advice that can spread throughout our community. While we still mourn Missy's sudden and tragic departure, we are hopeful that we can do her memory justice and make her proud.
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We are here to do our best and Missy will be watching.