Golden longevity

Fifty years is a long work life. For Larry Neill, he’s spent all 50 years in one place, never calling in sick since 1965 when he started as a housekeeper for St. Luke’s Memorial Hospital.

In 1992, the facility transitioned from an acute hospital with a 24-hour emergency room and maternity wing to rehabilitation, becoming St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute. Neill kept cleaning, enjoying the work and the camaraderie.

“There’s instant people and instant friends,” Neill, 70, said before starting his afternoon shift last week. “If I retire, I’ll have to look for friends and things to do.”

It’s not unusual anymore, especially after the Great Recession destroyed many savings accounts, for people to work past traditional retirement age. Many baby boomers are seeking encore careers, new jobs fueled by passion, personal interest and a desire to “give back” and not just earn a paycheck or climb another rung on the corporate latter. Yet these older workers aren’t staying in the same job with the same company for decades.

Neill is the first St. Luke’s employee to earn 50 years. He never had a reason to leave. For St. Luke’s, Neill is a prized employee known for his friendly smile and meticulous work – in addition to his role as the facility’s unofficial historian.

“He’s just super cheerful, really good-natured and a good-hearted guy,” said housekeeping manager Julie Meulheim, who has worked with Neill for a year at the 60-patient facility where people generally stay for several weeks to recover from surgeries and other ailments.

The median employment tenure for wage and salary workers was 4.6 years in January 2014, unchanged from 2012, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s compared with five years tenure in 1983.

As expected, tenure is higher among older workers. The median tenure of worker ages 55 to 64 is 10.4 years, more than three times that of the millennials – workers age 25 to 34 years who have an employment tenure of three years. Among workers ages 60 to 64, 58 percent were employed for at least 10 years.

Last month, St. Luke’s had a celebration honoring Neill’s tenure. It was standing-room-only with hospital workers, former employees, volunteers and friends.

“It was wonderful,” Neill said about the party. “Some didn’t get a piece of cake and we had two cakes.”

Meulheim said the overflowing attendance shows how beloved Neill is by his St. Luke’s family.

Raised in Spokane, Neill graduated from Lewis and Clark High School in 1964.

The following year, at age 20, Neill applied for the St. Luke’s housekeeping position.

“They used to say if you stayed for five years you were a lifer,” Neill said. So what is a 50-year tenure? “I’m an old-timer, I guess.”

He remembers at his hiring, the hospital paid 25 cents above the minimum wage of $1.25. Neill said he still gets decent pay and always enjoys coming to work.

He rides the Spokane Transit Authority bus every day and makes friends with everyone who rides, just as he does at the hospital.

He has no secret to his good health and never having to take time off. He admits to high blood pressure but said that just comes with age.

“I just keep busy,” he said. “You live longer if you keep busy and active.”

As for retirement, Neill has no for-sure plans other than to work at least until May when St. Luke’s has its annual banquet honoring longtime employees. That’s when he will get his 50-year service pin.

“That’s the big question,” he said about the idea of retiring. “I’m by myself so I’ll really have to look (for activities). Maybe. We’ll see.”