Not slowing down: Kelly, 92, a fixture at Marietta Wendy’s
Susie Kelly, 92, cleans a table at the Muskingum Drive Wendy's location in Marietta. She said she works because otherwise she would be sitting at home. It gets her out among people. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)
Wendy's District Manager Jason Blair, Susie Kelly and General Manager Nina Male at the Muskingum Drive Wendy's location in Marietta. Blair has looked and believes Kelly, who is 92, may be the oldest employee in the Wendy's organization. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)
Susie Kelly, 92, works at the Muskingum Drive Wendy's location in Marietta. She has been at the location since the early 2000s. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)
Susie Kelly, 92, cleans a table at the Muskingum Drive Wendy's location in Marietta. She said she works because otherwise she would be sitting at home. It gets her out among people. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)
Wendy's District Manager Jason Blair, Susie Kelly and General Manager Nina Male at the Muskingum Drive Wendy's location in Marietta. Blair has looked and believes Kelly, who is 92, may be the oldest employee in the Wendy's organization. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)
Susie Kelly, 92, works at the Muskingum Drive Wendy's location in Marietta. She has been at the location since the early 2000s. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)
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Susie Kelly is a fixture at the Muskingum Drive Wendy’s location in Marietta.
Kelly, 92, has worked at the Muskingum Drive Wendy’s since it opened in the early 2000s.
She was looking for a job at the time and felt like she could do the work. She previously did home health care work and the time came to look for something else to do and she was told Wendy’s was hiring.
“I have never done this kind of work before,” she said.
The work gets her out and about.
“I do the work for my own therapy, because if I didn’t have something to get out and go I would just sit at home,” she said. “It puts me out among people.”
She regularly cleans the tables, washes trays and cleans the restrooms.
“I try to keep things straightened up,” Kelly said, adding she doesn’t do any work in food preparation. “I talk with the people who come in.”
Kelly is believed to be the oldest employee within the Wendy’s organization, according to District Manager Jason Blair as he has done research into it within the whole organization.
“I have reached out, but haven’t been able to find anyone,” he said.
Kelly is regularly talking to people, asking people how they are doing and more.
“She interacts with everyone in the dining room, cleans the tables and carries little mints around,” Blair said. “She wouldn’t walk past a person and not say hello.
“It is just the type of person she is.”
Kelly regularly stays on top of what she has to do and doesn’t have to be told to do something.
“She always makes sure everything is cleaned up,” Blair said. “She is one of the most reliable employees you could have. She is a great person to have around.”
Many people who come to the restaurant regularly recognize her.
“I see a lot of people out in public and they will ask if Miss Kelly is still working there,” Blair said. “She is such a sweetheart.
“There is nothing bad you can ever say about her. She just has a fantastic personality.”
Like anyone else in any job, Kelly said there are days when she comes in and sees a bunch of trays from the night before and it is not what she immediately wants to do, but she does what she needs to do in order to get the job done.
“She knows what she is supposed to do and she does it,” Blair said. “I wish I had more employees like her in all the stores.”
Kelly continues to be a great worker to have around, said General Manager Nina Male.
“I have not worked with her for long, but when she is here she is always doing something,” she said. “You never have to say anything to her.
“She enjoys coming and she is always smiling. She is out here in the dining room, talking to people. Things would run so much smoother if there were more people like her.”
Kelly will turn 93 in October and doesn’t have any plans to stop working.
“I’m going to stay as long as I can,” she said.
Contact Brett Dunlap at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com