84 year old McDonald's employee retires after more than 4 decades

After over four decades, 84 year old McDonald's employee Dot Sharp closed the drive thru window for the very last time Friday morning. "I'm really sad about that because it's not so much the food, it's the people," said Sharp, who is from Western Pennsylvania. "The people that I work with, they were great, they treated me great all these years, and we have the best customers in the world here." Sharp began serving McMuffins for breakfast and burgers and fries for lunch when she was in her 30s and, referring to a popular McDonald's marketing motto, said she's been "Lovin' It" ever since.

"We started the Happy Meal down (at the first location). Whenever they came out with the Barbie and the Hot Wheel ones, people would come in and order 50 Happy Meals at one time." Sharp was there to see the invention of Happy Meals in 1979, Chicken McNuggets in 1980, the 1986 McPizza, McFlurries in 1995 and McCafe coffee in 2001.

Sharp, who turned 84 last month, served her last order Friday morning to another McDonald's employee, Dottie Sims, who is also her granddaughter. "I actually just found my Daisy diary from when I was (about) 5 years old. It said, 'What do you want to be when you grow up?' in it, I wrote, 'My grandmother,' and I'm halfway there," said Sims, who has been employed at McDonald's for roughly 20 years.

"She was there with me for my first order. I used to go to work with her when I was little, and she would (let me) hand out customers change for them." “Dot has been an amazing contributor to McDonald’s of Gibsonia,” said McDonald’s owner and operator Meghan Sweeney. “Our customers love her and so have generations of her fellow co workers.

We’re so lucky to have had her on our team!” Sharp was at the first McDonald's location near Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, before it moved to Richland Township. Both of those towns are located outside of Pittsburgh. Dot remained there when the store was transferred to Meghan's father, Paul Sweeney, before it eventually was acquired by Meghan.

“We truly appreciate all that Dot did for our organization,” said Sweeney. “She brought a sunny disposition to every shift and always made the customer her top priority. I’m hoping Dot enjoys a well deserved break in her retirement.”.