In 1978, Dot Sharp, a single mother of four kids, would frequently visit the Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, McDonald’s. Both of her daughters worked there at the time.

‘I used to pick them up and drop them off, and then I would go up late at night and pick them up or on the weekend and pick them up to take them home,’ the now 84-year-old says to PEOPLE.

I She remarked, ‘And they told me, ‘You’re here so much.’’ I think you could find a job here with ease.

Given this, I filled out an application.
45 years after she had started working there, Sharp worked her final shift on January 12.

Saying, ‘I feel great,’ she talks about her retirement. However, I regret having to go since I will miss out on the opportunity to continue interacting

with all of my amazing clients and the amazing people I work with. I will, however, visit them frequently.

harp has worked at a variety of establishments and restaurants before starting at McDonald’s. She says it was easy for her to take care of her kids and yet have a good work-life balance.

She explains that she always started her work at four in the morning and concluded it later in the afternoon between one and two o’clock. I was therefore at home taking care of the kids,

making dinner for them, and making sure they finished all of their schoolwork. Nevertheless, working at [McDonald’s] was a great experience.

Sharp has been employed by the massive fast food chain for more than 50 years, holding a number of roles over that time. She still finds the most satisfaction, though, in her role as a drive-thru cashier.

She confesses, saying, ‘I loved the customers in their drive-thru.’ Before, they used to sing to me.

If people realized that I was the one speaking on the speaker, they would sing to me. We had a fantastic day with some incredibly nice visitors.

She was present for some of McDonald’s inventions, including the McPizza in 2001, the Happy Meal in 1979, and McCafe drinks.

She also remembers the senior citizen bingo games that were played every Tuesday morning at the Gibsonia facility. Former Pittsburgh Steelers player Fran Rogel was one of the attendees.

He would enter via the door in the morning. She says, ‘Hey, diddle diddle, Rogel up the middle,’ and everyone would stand up and applaud. ‘He had us laughing the whole time he was there,

and he would run around the store pretending he was playing football,’ she remarked. ‘He was a lot of fun.’I was simply there for pleasure, and the only thing that kept me there were memories like these.

On January 12, Sharp was greeted with a surprise party complete with cake, balloons, and flowers when she came for her last day of work.

She says, ‘I really didn’t anticipate anything like that,’ adding that she had assumed she would just ‘clock out and go home.’ She describes the experience as a huge surprise.

‘What they achieved was amazing,’ she says again.

Sharp will keep her ties to the fast food company alive through her granddaughter Dottie Sims, who has been employed there since she was fifteen.

Sims characterizes the 35-year-old grandmother as having ‘always been a work ethic.’ The truth is, I don’t remember Mom ever being late for work;

she was always well attired and ironed. I used to get yelled at for showing up to work with a wrinkled shirt on.

Meghan Sweeney, the owner and operator of the Gibsonia McDonald’s, expressed a similar opinion on Sharp’s dedication in an interview with PEOPLE.

She recalled that when Extreme Makeover: Home Edition was a big television program, “she would come and yell up the ‘Move that line!’ or ‘Move that bus!’’

This is one of her favorite memories. If she didn’t think we were moving the drive-through, she would turn around and yell, ‘Move that bus!’ It was essential that you had a good time.

Sharp believes that having ‘fun times’ at work is what inspires her loyalty. The 84-year-old woman continues, ‘It was happiness,’ summarizing what kept her ‘coming back and coming back.’

Sharp claims that she currently intends to spend her retirement years with her family. The declaration she makes is,

‘I have a retired son and a retired daughter.’ I think that the family will get back together and we will

spend a little more time together, as well as see family members who we haven’t seen in a long time.