Nancy (seated) with her East coworkers (from left) Tammy Alberts, Chris Freeman, Heather Terpstra, Drake Bentley, Jewell Grahame, and Branch Manager Dane Didier.
East Receptionist Nancy LeClaire retired after 34 years last month, and both customers and coworkers turned out in full force to let her know how much she’d be missed.
That’s a lot of cake — but it wasn’t enough for the crowds that showed up.
“Oh, my goodness, we had a great time. I couldn’t even tell you,” said East UB Tammy Alberts of the Aug 20 reception at the branch for Nancy. “We went through one of the largest sheet cakes I’ve ever seen. We had to go out and get more cookies because we ran out of cake.”
Nancy, at her beflowered desk, with her daughters.
The love for Nancy was evident. “Her desk looked like a floral shop,” Tammy said. “There were so many flowers.”
“It was absolutely fantastic. I never dreamt it would be like that,” Nancy said over the phone this Monday. “There were so many people, and it just touched my heart. I just can’t thank everyone enough for what they’ve done. It’s going to take me four months to write all my thank-you notes! It’s a position I had absolutely loved for 34 years. It gave me the chance to give of myself.” (In fact, she had stopped in earlier that very day to see her former coworkers and drop off some ice cream bars, before heading over to visit her son-in-law’s mother at a memory care facility.)
“When people say ‘I can’t wait to retire’ — that wasn’t me,” Nancy said, noting that she’ll turn 84 next month. “I’d still be there, but the drive was getting to be too much in the winter.”
Nancy’s whole family came in for the Wednesday reception, which was the official public tribute to Nancy’s service at North Shore Bank. But people stopped by on Thursday and Friday, too. The bank also held an event at Corporate for employees. All in all, Tammy said, “It was a great party.”
“I’ll miss it. I really will,” Nancy said. “How many of us have the opportunity to do what we absolutely love? I just am so blessed that they kept me there!”