Leona Purcell, with Lawlor pharmacy owner Kyro Maseh, recently retired after working there for 50 years.
Leona Purcell has been a fixture in Toronto’s Upper Beach neighbourhood for half a century.
The 80-year-old, who retired this week from Lawlor Pharmacy, had a career that witnessed two relocations, multiple changes in ownership and generations of families served.
She worked through a global pandemic, pushed away forged prescriptions and even testified in court about a robbery that occurred during her shift.
“She’s been that fixture that has always been in the community and in the shop,” said Paulette Altilia, 67, who has known Purcell since she started working there around 1974.
During the pandemic, Purcell refused to take days off. She’d tell her employer, pharmacist Kyro Maseh, “I need to come into work. This is what I do,” he recalled. “These are the people I serve.”
It was the same when her son died last May. Maseh offered her time off, but she insisted on working — she loved her job. “It was her way of gaining a sense of normality,” he said.
Last Tuesday, Purcell hung up her uniform vest for good, ending a five-decade career that earned her a reputation as not just a beloved pharmacy assistant, but also a friendly face in the east end community.
As she wrapped up her final shift, Purcell hugged her colleagues, grabbed her bags and walked toward the exit, pausing in the door frame to wave one last goodbye to the place that became her second home.
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