AN OCTOGENARIAN who has enjoyed a new career well past retirement age has been celebrated by his Asda colleagues in Bangor after reaching the birthday milestone.
Billy Cooper wanted to keep his recent 80th birthday quiet from everyone but when he arrived at work on the big day, his colleagues had other ideas.
Soon everyone was tucking into cake and festooning him with a pink feather boa to celebrate almost two decades serving customers with a smile.
The Bangor man enjoyed his surprise, stating: “When my wife Pat dropped me off, I said to her, ‘don’t be letting on to anyone that it’s my birthday’.
“But somebody somewhere must have known because they had a lovely birthday party ready for me here in the morning when I got here.
“There was cake, balloons, a badge and a card. They even had me in a pink feather boa with something silly on my head.”
Sitting behind a checkout at the supermarket while his peers were enjoying their retirement relaxing, it’s a far cry from Billy’s earlier career as a youth officer.
The grandad-of-six, who still considers himself a ‘blow-in’ 50 years after moving to the city from Belfast with his wife, said he hadn’t been ‘quite ready for my pipe and slippers yet’, when he called time on youth work at age 58.
Working with young people all over Northern Ireland, youth work was a career that gave him a number of extraordinary opportunities to travel the world and meet extraordinary people, including India where he worked with the network of Mother Teresa to help disadvantaged children and the homeless.
He also worked in the United States, bringing 10 young people from Northern Ireland to meet the former First Lady, Hillary Clinton and Senator Ted Kennedy in Washington.
“It was a very rewarding career,” says Billy.
“But when I eventually stepped back at the age of 58, I wasn’t quite ready for my pipe and slippers yet. At first, I started some work with the Samaritans, and eventually came for a wee job here at Asda in 2007. I don’t suppose at the time I thought I’d still be here at 80, but it’s been brilliant.”
Working two mornings a week, Billy says he has no plans to stop any time soon.
“As long as I’m in good health, I’ll keep coming in. My colleagues are lovely to work with and after nearly 19 years, I know a lot of the customers. It’s nice with the older ones that we get to spend a bit of time reminiscing, because things have changed a lot since we were young.”
In lieu of birthday gifts this year, Billy asked friends and family to make a charity donation, raising more than £850 for Northern Ireland Heart Chest and Stroke.
“I had a pacemaker fitted more than 10 years ago, and there’s a fantastic young woman who comes into the store and fundraises for them, so they seemed like the perfect choice.”
“I’m lucky because I work more for the fun than the money at this point. I’m a people person, so getting out to work isn’t a chore for me, it’s something I love to do.”
Lynsey McAlonan, customer services manager at Asda Bangor, added: “Billy is such a fantastic member of the team, we were delighted to share in the celebrations for his big day – a special birthday for a very special colleague.”
