Marilyn puts her stamp on retirement
Staff and customers at Burghead post office gathered to say farewell to retiring counter assistant Marilyn Gordon.
A BURGHEAD woman who served her local post office for 45 years and never had a day off sick has celebrated her retirement.
Marilyn Gordon (60) had been a friendly and familiar face behind the counter of the village post office since taking up the job straight from school in January, 1966.
And apart from a break to have her two children, Fiona and Stuart, she has been doling out pensions and stamping parcels ever since, not even having a ‘sickie’ on one single day.
But now babysitting her grandchildren and planning more holidays will take precedence for Mrs Gordon and her husband, John, now that she can finally enjoy a life of leisure.
“It was time for me to go, but I will miss my work – and all the chitchat,” she said.
“The job was convenient for me because I didn’t drive, but I just enjoyed the work, meeting the public and helping folk in any way I could.
“It was very social, and I worked and served people I liked.”
Staff gave Mrs Gordon a memorable send-off by presenting her with flowers and gifts during the retirement party in the post office, before enjoying a night out in the village.
She remembers not having computers, or even calculators, to help her with her duties when she first started off as a Saturday girl.
“You just had to count it up manually,” she said. “There’s been quite a few changes over the years, and big differences to how things are paid nowadays.”
Now that her working days are over, Mrs Gordon is relishing having more time to spend with grandson Sandy and granddaughter Kirsty at her King Street home.
