Grocery cashier retires from work life at the age of 80

By Justin Seward - Lethbridge Herald on September 3, 2024.

Herald photo by Justin Seward Judy Briscoe retired from Safeway after 20 years on Saturday.

Safeway cashier Judy Briscoe rang through customers the till for the last time on Saturday at the Fairway Plaza location as she retired after 20 years with the company.

The 80-year-old split time between northside and southside locations in her cashier career.

“I do it because I enjoy it,” said Briscoe.

“I’m a people person and so I hung in more for that. And for me it was something to do because like as a senior sitting just at home doing nothing is not a good thing.”

Briscoe felt like she was always treated well at Safeway.

“I’ve enjoyed working for them, too for that very reason,” said Briscoe.

The most rewarding part for Briscoe was the people.

“Many of them would come through my till and say, ‘Oh I was here the other day and I missed you’ and I say ‘well I wasn’t working the other day, so maybe that’s why you missed me,'” chuckled Briscoe.

“I feel I’ve made a lot of friends but without knowing names and all this sort of stuff. But friends that always check up on me and they’re very social able with me and that’s made it a pleasant thing all in itself.”

The biggest thing for Briscoe was having to memorize all the codes.

“Which the newcomers don’t have to know, it’s all on our computerized machines. So if we don’t know, we can look it up,” said Briscoe.

“Whereas back then you had to memorize them or they wouldn’t hire you because you had to know those.”

Briscoe said things have definitely changed.

“I think years ago I feel we had sort of a more stable employees sort of thing,” said Briscoe.

“Whereas now, and I think it’s not only here but everywhere, that people, the young ones especially, work for a while and … they’re gone.”

She will miss the people the most about her job.

She plans to rejoin NordBridge Seniors Centre to play crib, darts and pool as well as visit her friends more.

Briscoe had a decorating and painting company for 42 years prior to, and while working at Safeway, where she became the first journeyman woman painter in Alberta.

After moving to Lethbridge from Edmonton in 1972, the city told her she needed be a journeymen decorator/painter or have a journeyman on her crew to work in the field here.

“It was never a problem before,” said Briscoe.

“It was actually my hubby who encouraged me and ‘says go for it, you can do it, I’m sure you can’ and so I did,” said Briscoe.

“I feel a part of the luck was that the exam that they gave you was multiple choice. Well by then I had four or five years of experience, so multiple choice was an easy type of exam to do.”

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