Tuscaloosa News / Robert Sutton
They say when you find a job you love, you will never have to work another day of your life. Although few of us discover that kind of workplace nirvana, Robert “Bob” Jones has. From when he grew up working on the farm until now, work has been his way of life and he even says he doesn’t want to retire because he enjoys work so much. Jones’ daughter, Anita Channell, looks up to him as a role model. She admires his honesty, industriousness, and strong sense of responsibility.
Welder, 77, loves work too much to retire
By Amelia Webber Special to The Tuscaloosa News
Published: Sunday, July 12, 2009 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, July 11, 2009 at 10:14 p.m.TUSCALOOSA | At an age when most children are just getting the hang of tying their shoes, Robert “Bob” Jones was strapping a harness on a mule and heading for the fields at daybreak.
That was more than 70 years ago, and Jones hasn’t stopped working since. Now 77, Jones is a welder at Southern Heat Exchanger Corp. — where he has worked for more than 42 years — and he has no plans to stop anytime soon.
“The company has been good to me so I like to be good to them,” he said at work Friday. “I’m planning on staying as long as they’ll let me, and I hope that will be ’til I get ready to leave.”