Applauding A Family’s Devotion to Taylorville
Married for 67 years, retired surgeon Ignacio Del Valle and his wife Mary Kay are devoted to each other, their family and the community of Taylorville, their home for more than 60 years.
The couple and their family have created an enduring legacy through decades of giving back, not only with regular gifts to the Taylorville Memorial Foundation but also through donating time and energy to the Taylorville YMCA, the Christian County CEO program and other programs and activities.
“They are very trusted in the community,” said Kim Bourne, president and CEO of Taylorville Memorial Hospital. “The Del Valles have been so generous financially with the Taylorville Memorial Foundation, but the entire family is also very involved in the community.”
In 1960, Ignacio was recruited to Taylorville from Stonington, and he set up practice with an office and pharmacy. Even though he had offers to move to larger cities, he and Mary Kay stayed committed to Taylorville.
“It is a good place to live,” Ignacio said. “We have a very good hospital, nice surgeons coming in. Everything can be provided to anyone who is sick or who needs surgery. We go to a restaurant, and someone comes by our table and says hello. It has been a very nice place.”
“Small towns are the best,” said Mary Kay, who worked as a registered nurse in surgery. “Taylorville has been very good to us. At this age, we can go uptown and always see someone we know. We feel safe, and everyone has been happy.”
Ignacio and Mary Kay have supported the foundation since 1991 and always appreciated the personal care offered at TMH.
“When you have to go the Emergency Department, it is nice to see someone you know,” Mary Kay said. “You are always treated like a person and not a number.”
Two of their three children have stayed in the area. Michael, their oldest, moved to Chicago while Rick Del Valle, MD, practices internal medicine in Taylorville, and daughter Kathy Fergin works as a certified registered nurse anesthetist at TMH.
Kathy firmly believes that one of the reasons Taylorville has remained such a vibrant community is because of the hospital. She and her husband Tom have been supporters of the foundation since 2015.
“Our Emergency Department is a lifeline for everyone,” she said. “That team does a beautiful job. Stabilizes our patients, and those who need to go to a larger hospital can be transferred safely and quickly. So many people don’t realize the number of surgeries we do, too. We can do surgeries that involve every part of the body.”
Her brother “Dr. Rick” also has a heart connection to Taylorville. He grew up here, attended medical school at St. Louis University, met his future wife in St. Louis, and then did his residency in Chicago at Rush University. He and Mary married in 1986 and spent three years in Chicago before they decided to move to Taylorville.
They have supported the foundation since 1991.
“We had an idyllic childhood growing up right in the heart of Taylorville on Franklin Street,” Dr. Rick recalled. “I could walk to school. When I was 12, I had a paper route and was mowing 14 yards a week. When I went off to college, I came home on weekends because I still had a lot of friends in Taylorville.”
He and his wife Mary ended up raising two sons in Taylorville. One works as a lineman for Ameren, while the other is a veterinarian. Dr. Rick plans to retire in the next year or so, but he and Mary have no plans to leave the area. Taylorville is home.
“My next goal is to work hard to recruit some new physicians to this area,” he said. “I think I can do a lot of promotion for Taylorville from my experience here. I don’t want to see this town ever not have good medical care.”
That’s another reason Kim Bourne is so appreciative of the Del Valle family. They have always championed a patient-first mentality in their medical care, and that has resulted in a positive relationship with the hospital and the local medical community.
“Like his father before him, Dr. Rick cares about what’s good for Taylorville and what’s best for patients,” she said. “Locally, we are all here for the same reason. It takes all of us.”
Want to join the Del Valle family in supporting local healthcare programs, educational funding and other projects? Visit our website to learn more about the Taylorville Memorial Foundation.