WALPOLE, Mass. (WJAR) – A lunch lady in Massachusetts was given a gift on the day of her retirement that she said she would never forget.
Bette Duquette began working part-time in the kitchen for the Norfolk County Conservation District in 1982.
The site became the home of the Norfolk County Agricultural High School in 2000 and she continued to work full-time as a lunch lady.
For years, the mother of two and grandmother would get up bright and early for work and make the quick commute to the school as she lives just across the street.
Duquette called it a career last November and retired to spend time with her family, but she said the time away from the kids at school has been tough.
“Retiring from my aggy kids has been the hardest part for me,” Duquette said. “I need them more than they needed me.”
Duquette knows nearly every student by name and the school staff and students said everyone felt a special bond with her.
“Everybody wants a hug from Bette. She is the one who had a hug for you and a smile for you,” Lauren Fraser, a longtime math teacher at the school, said.
A few years ago the school implemented an award in Duquette’s name to recognize students and staff who embody kindness.
Each year, Duquette would present the award to the recipient during Thanksgiving week on a day that became known as “Bette Day.”
Fraser said she created a petition to have the building that houses the cafeteria named after Duquette when she heard that she was retiring.
“You have buildings named after superintendents, and principals, and trustees, but Bette has done more for those kids than any of those people and why not name the building after someone who has had such an influence on all these kids?” Fraser said.
The petition garnered nearly 1,000 signatures from students, staff and people in the community who learned of their efforts.
And it was a unanimous decision to move forward with naming the building to Bette Duquette Hall.
“It is amazing. Never did I think I’d be working here for 40 years,” Duquette said. “To have this building with my name on it, it’s just incredible. It’s wonderful, but what’s more wonderful is who is in it, my aggy students.”
On “Bette Day,” hundreds gathered at the school’s campus for the unveiling of the building’s new name.
“To be able to participate in the experience for Bette has been wonderful, very gratifying,” School Superintendent John Martin said.
Duquette said adjusting to retirement has still been difficult but fortunately, she has been able to keep her “kids” close.
“I look out the window all the time and I know exactly when lunch is,” she said. “I am blessed and honored to have been able to work here at the aggy all these years really. It’s been my honor.”
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