'Taking care of people was just my calling'
Benny Malone spent his early years as a welder, carpet layer and well digger. He was making decent money but felt called to do something more meaningful.
“I guess God had a plan for my life and just pulled me to Huntsville Hospital,” Benny says. 
That was in December 1974. More than half a century later, Benny is happy that he heeded the call and went on to become a patient care aide. He recently celebrated his 50th work anniversary and was honored with his own star on the hospital’s Walk of Fame.
“I believe taking care of people was just my calling,” Benny said. “I tell everybody that I’m employed by Huntsville Hospital, but I’m working for God.”
Benny began his hospital career as a housekeeper, cleaning patient rooms in what was then a much smaller facility. But after a few years, he decided he could help more people as a nurse’s aide.
Over five-plus decades, Benny has worked in just about every part of Huntsville Hospital; his current home is the Ortho Trauma Unit in the gleaming Orthopedic & Spine Tower.
His patient care philosophy is simple: treat everyone he meets like family.
“I don’t want someone to feel like I’m just here to make money,” he says.
Benny is nearing 80 years old, but you’d never know it. He lifts weights three days a week and still cuts his yard with a push mower. He’s also a talented cook who once owned a restaurant called Hot Doggit on Old Madison Pike near Calhoun Community College.
Benny’s wife, Sallie Malone, is a psychiatric tech in Huntsville Hospital’s Behavioral Health Unit.
At some point, Benny knows he will hang up his gray scrubs and retire. But he doesn’t see it happening anytime soon.
“Right now, at age 79, I’m having the best time of my life,” he says with a smile.
