'It's Just Been A Wonderful Experience': Shawnee Ace Hardware Employee Retires After 57 Years

After working at White’s Ace Hardware in Shawnee for 57 years, Dorothy Tyler is retiring this week.

“There’s not enough words to describe how wonderful this job has been,” Dorothy said.

She lives independently and drives herself to the store, coming in by 7:30 each morning.

“There isn’t anything I don’t enjoy about my job,” Dorothy said. “I love my job, I love to come to work every day, I love all of the employees.”

She was with the company when the store burned to the ground in 1971, and she remembers when they first installed a computer at her desk.

“Everything began to change,” she said. “Things became much easier, we hired more employees, I was assigned other duties, I became office manager at that point.”

She even stuck around long enough to see her daughter marry the store’s owner, Buford White.

“She’s healthy, she’s intelligent, kind, all good things, a wonderful role model for a mother my entire life, and I will be eternally grateful to have her,” Linda White said.

Buford died six years ago, leaving the both the Shawnee store and another in Seminole to Linda.

“Just recently I had the opportunity to sell both of them, and I’m ready to retire, so as of December 30^th, we will have new owners,” Linda said.

With the change in ownership, Dorothy said she’s ready form something new as well.

“It’s just been a wonderful experience, all my life,” Dorothy said. “Of course, I have very mixed emotions about leaving, but it’s time. I’m 90 years old, it’s time to start a new era in my life.”