After more than 40 years of service, a staple of the Lennox Sunshine, Barb Stewart, will hang up her apron and head off into retirement on January 31.
Barb Stewart has built a life for herself in Lennox and raised a family she is proud of. She has been married to her husband, Chuck, for the past 51 years, they have three children, Bob and spouse DeAnne; Heather; and Bill and spouse, Katie, along with seven grandchildren, Teague, Chase, Maddie, McKenna, Jackson, Noah, and Camden. Stewart’s family was built all within a block of what has become her second home for the past 36 years.
“I always thought it was a plus being able to walk to work for 36 of the 43 years I worked there,” Stewart joked.
Stewart started working at age 23 for Virgs IGA.
“I made $3.35 per hour when I first started as a checker and shortly after I was put into produce before becoming the produce manager,” she said.
Stewart has transitioned with the store from Virgs IGA to Virgs Foodshoppe, Jubilee Foods, Fiesta Foods, and now to Sunshine Foods.
“I loved working for Virg Musch and his family, they made you feel like part of the family and when Sunshine bought us, Tony Bosch and his family made us all feel the same way, which I loved,” she said.
Being there from the beginning, Stewart saw all the changes and updates to the store firsthand.
“Some of the biggest things that happened were in 1993 when we got our first scanning system, adding the addition to the store downtown and the building of the new store,” she said.
Throughout the years, she has had many roles in scanning, as co-assistant manager, and now, Stewart’s skills are best used as scanning coordinator and bookkeeping.
People are the reason Barb showed up to work each and every day, both coworkers, bosses, and customers all made an impact on her life.
“I will miss the customers and the people I work with, and doing whatever I can to help the customers,” she said.
Co-workers also became like family to Barb.
“I will miss working with everyone, and there’s too many to name, but Char taught me so much, I will miss my co-workers, they became family,” she continued.
Over the years, Barb got herself in sticky situations, but because of the trust her employers had in her, she was able to help customers achieve their dreams.
“Many years ago, fruit baskets were a big thing, a former employee worked at a hospital and she called to order 125 fruit baskets. At first, my manager thought I was crazy, but after some figuring on how to get them to the hospital, he was fine with it and we had that order for a few years and I single handedly made them all,” she said.
A good support team from the top down is the reason Stewart stayed in her position for over four decades.
“I’ve had some good managers over the years and so many memories I will take with me, I’m glad for the opportunity they gave me to do what I thought was right and to help the store and the community over the years,” Stewart said.
Barb will punch the clock one last time on January 31 and plans to spend some time doing things for herself.
“I plan to do some sewing, projects that I have put off around the house, I want to travel to Michigan to see friends, visit my kids and family more, and camp when the weather is nice,” she said.
Thankful for the family she created along the way, Stewart would like to extend the love back to those who were always there.
“I want to thank Chuck and our kids for always supporting my crazy hours and being there for me. All my wonderful co-workers I have had over the years and remained friends with for life, the Musch and Bosch families and all the managers I have had. I always appreciated the employees that celebrated the happy times with me and being there to support me when they weren’t,” she said.
Those wanting to wish Barb good luck in retirement can cine to her retirmement party at the Lennox Legion on Friday, Jan. 31 from 5 to 8 p.m.
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