40 Years of Caring at Concordia: Marysue Hitchens

Below is an article we published in our employee newsletter the other day, but it’s just too great to keep to ourselves. Enjoy!

Marysue Hitchens celebrated her 19th birthday on September 3, 1978 as well as what would turn out to be another important milestone – her first day of work at Concordia at Cabot. On this week of her 40th anniversary (week of 9/3), we honor Marysue, the Nursing Assistant turned Housekeeping Supervisor in Lund Care Center Skilled Nursing.

After graduating from Knoch High School in 1978, Marysue was drawn to Concordia because she wanted to work with the elderly. While she established relationships with residents and patients at Concordia, she also formed connections with her fellow employees.

Marysue lost her first husband to rheumatic fever on an Easter Sunday morning, and she remembers how Concordia’s Chaplaincy Director Pastor Jack Hartman sat with her that day. She credits this family atmosphere of caring as one of the reasons for her long tenure here.

Another reason, of course, are the residents she interacts with every day.

“I love my residents and do all I can to make their lives a little easier,” she said. “My advice to my team is to always give a resident an extra five minutes if they need it, because every moment matters.”

Marysue has also been a member of the Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Company for 40 years, and met her second husband, Herb, there. When she isn’t working or volunteering, she, Herb and their two Shelties, Suzie and Buddy, enjoy camping in Slippery Rock or Benezette in Elk County, PA.

On this week of her 40th anniversary, Concordia’s President and CEO Keith Frndak was able to salute Marysue for four decades of steadfast service by announcing that it was officially Marysue Hitchens Week at Concordia.

“Marysue continues to serve at Concordia with dedication and makes our organization better by her presence,” he said.

Marysue also received a recognition award at a special presentation from Brian Llewellyn, Concordia at Cabot Director of Human Resources.

“This is an excellent place to work,” she told the staff at Lund as they gathered around her. Outbursts of laughter rippled through the crowd when she recommended they “strive for 40!”

Employees like Marysue are the reason why Concordia remains strong and committed to faithful caring. Thank you for your all hard work, Marysue!

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There are a lot of reasons why an employee like Marysue has stayed at Concordia for so long. Want to learn more about them? Visit the Careers section of our website, www.ConcordiaCareers.org. Come and see how at Concordia, we put our faith in caring.