THOMASVILLE — A long-ago visit to a Florida state hospital for special-needs children made an impact on Cynthia Hope.

“I fell in love with the children. I wanted to take them home,” Hope said. Sadly, she recalled deformed children who had been turned over to the state by their parents.

“They just wanted to be loved,” Hope said.

Her genuine concern for children is evident. She loves them all.

A child with issues does not stop Hope. “They are God’s children,” she explained.

On Jan. 2, Hope, 61, will end a 21-year career with Head Start, 20 of those years as director of Thomas County Head Start.

After a dream trip to a far-away place, Hope will learn to play golf. She wants to swing a club, hit a ball and see her waistline diminish as a result of the activity. She is an avid bowler and plays softball.

Hope was born in Ocala, Florida, where her 89-year-old mother still lives. Her father died when she was 4. While on vacation from his Seaboard Coastline job, Hope’s dad died in an accident while helping a relative on a logging job in the Ocala National Forest.

Hope married her high school sweetheart, Warren Hope, pastor at Silver Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Coolidge, 40 years ago. The couple has four children and six grandchildren.

With three brothers, Hope had to keep up with her male siblings. She fired guns, played marbles and football and beat up her brothers.

“I was not a girly-girl. I was a tomboy,” she said.

Looking back on her career, Hope said Head Start children, not unlike all youngsters, need love.

“They need to know there are people in the world who will love them,” she explained.

Some Head Start alumni have graduated from college, and their children are now in Thomas County Head Start. Hope remembers the names of former Head Start students when they visit, their parents’ names and where they lived. She receives wedding invitations from former students.

Once her travel plans are complete and she has mastered golf, Hope wants to tend to the elderly at nursing homes. She will listen to them and shampoo their hair.

Her love and compassion for others will stay alive at the other end of the age spectrum.

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820.