An 84-year-old recently retired from McDonald’s — after 45 years

An 84-year-old McDonald’s employee, Dot Sharp, retired on Jan. 12 from a Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, restaurant after working there for over four decades.

Sharp and her 45-year career predates several McDonald’s items, some of which include Happy Meals and McNuggets, per Business Insider. During her stint with the company, she took on different roles and managerial positions, ending as a drive-thru cashier for the last nine years.

Her location, according to Business Insider, had a drive-thru line that surrounded the building because “so many of her regulars wanted to wish her well.” Her McDonald’s career was capped off by her granddaughter, ordering as Sharp’s final customer.

Two decades ago, Sharp’s granddaughter, Dotty Sims, started her own career at McDonald’s — and her first patron was Sharp, per Pittsburgh Magazine.

Sharp said, “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,” as reported by The Herald Review.

Additionally, according to The Herald Review, the owner and operator of the McDonald’s location, Meghan Sweeney, said, “Dot has been an amazing contributor to McDonald’s of Gibsonia.” She adds, “Our customers love her and so have generations of her fellow co-workers. We’re so lucky to have had her on our team!”

The ‘McLegend’ story

Sharp isn’t the only employee to recently retire from the fast-food chain at an older age.

Last December, a Fort Pierce, Florida, location celebrated the retirement of 75-year-old Barbara Cramer, who, according to People, had started working at the establishment in 1970.

Referred to as the “McLegend” by her coworkers, Cramer first applied and waited to work at a school board; yet, as reported by the New York Post, the restaurant offered her a position first, and she was quick to accept it, resulting in a career spanning 53 years — over multiple locations and various positions.

The 100-year-old Tik-Tok star

A 100-year-old employee named Ruth Shuster, having appeared in several TikTok videos for a Pennsylvania franchise, passed away in January 2022, per Business Insider.

Shuster, who had celebrated her 100th birthday the year prior, worked as a greeter at the McDonald’s Big Mac Museum restaurant in Pennsylvania, and became popularized outside of the restaurant through the franchise’s TikTok videos.

TikTok videos that starred Shuster ended up receiving over 800,000 views on the platform, according to Business Insider.

The owner of the McDonald’s Big Mac Museum, Michael Delligatti, shared a statement to CBS News in Pittsburgh, saying, “The McFamily has lost an effervescent light today. Ruthie Shuster’s sunny optimism brought joy to everyone who knew her. We treasure her vivacious spirit in our memories and offer our deepest sympathies to her loved ones.”