Saying farewell to a familiar face

Times Reporter 

 

After 43 years a familiar face in the office of Westmount School is leaving. Pat Irish began her career at the school just one month after it opened its doors, and this year she has decided it is time to retire. 

“Because it is time and it felt right,” said Irish about her decision. 

“For me retirement is just to have the time to do what I want to do.”

She is confident she will be leaving the school in very capable hands and already has plans to come back and help work on backdrops for the annual play and visit from time-to-time. 

“The school has been a part of my life for more than (half) the time I have been on this planet so far. I will miss the people and I will miss the school because we have been through a lot this school and I together,” said Irish.

Technology is catching up, said Irish, and while she isn’t too bad with it, she thinks the office needs to be taken further into the technological age to keep up with the demands as they keep changing. 

Principal Wayne Funk said when you think back to when Irish first started at the school she was a stenographer, a letter writer and an attendance taker. Now she manages budgets, high-end computer systems.

“Her job has changed dramatically in the 43 years and she has managed to stay on top of everything as she’s managed to go through,” said Funk.

Often there are parents who bring their kids into the school and say that Irish was there when they were students. There is nothing about the history of the school that she doesn’t know. 

“We’re going to miss that, that history, that tie to the start of the school is gone,” said Funk. 

“She’s just a recognized part of the school, it’s going to be hard to imagine she’s gone” said Associate Principal Dana Graff. 

On May 30 there was an assembly and the students had a chance to say farewell. The kids put together a DVD with recommendations on things Irish should do with her retirement, and the staff even lip-synced a song, which was shown at the assembly. On June 13 former and current employees gathered to get together to say their own farewell to Irish.  

“I am so happy for her that she can do it, and she is so excited looking forward to it. I wish her the best of luck, and we will miss her,” said Karen Wilkie, who has worked in the office with Irish over the past 10 years. 

Irish isn’t sure what to attribute to her dedication at the school for so long. She said it just happened, one day she turned around and it was 43 years later. 

“We are blessed with wonderful parents in this school and we always have been, so that’s wonderful. We have kind of gone from the only elementary school in Strathmore, now we share which is wonderful because the population has grown so much but we still retain our country roots which is nice,” said Irish. 

“I will have my first full summer in 43 years, because I always have to come back like five days before everyone else, so I am looking forward to my first full summer.”