TIFTON — When Walter Strange graduated from the University of Georgia’s pharmacy school in 1950, the former Marine who served in World War II couldn’t have known the career in front of him would stretch out 67 years.

Now 94-years-old, Strange has decided to retire from the pharmacy business.

“I enjoyed every minute of it and hated to quit,” said Strange. “But being 94, I thought I should quit sometime.”

Strange started his career in Warrenton, staying there a year before making it back home to Americus. After working for a few years in Americus and Dawson, Strange took a trip over to Tifton to look at a pharmacy.

“In 1956, we came to look at Brooks Drug Store,” said Strange. “We bought that…worked on the corner where City Optical is now.”

He ran Stange’s Pharmacy at the corner of 2nd Street and Love Avenue for about five years, before moving next door into a bigger space.

For almost three decades, he worked downtown, ably assisted by his wife, Murthal, who passed away in recent years.

“She helped my tremendously in the drugstore,” said Strange. “I had real good help.”

They sold the place in the mid-80s and Strange worked a couple of years in other pharmacies before deciding to retire in the late 1980s.

That first retirement lasted all of two weeks.

“I went home and in about two weeks, I got a call to work every other Saturday,” said Strange.

This kicked off the second phase of his career as Strange worked for pharmacies around South Georgia: Hawkinsville, Waycross, Valdosta.

More recently, he’s been working at the Wal-Mart pharmacy in Tifton, until his retirement in April.

You don’t do something for 67 years without enjoying it, and for Strange, the joy of the job was in the people.

“Filling prescriptions, seeing people, talking with people, counseling with them, answering their questions,” said Strange. “There’s a lot more to it than just filling a prescription and giving it to them. Sometimes they’d call in the middle of the night asking questions.”

“And he’d answer them, whether they were his customers or not,” said Angela Stewart, Strange’s daughter.

Stewart grew up in the business, spending summers and weekends at the shop.

“The neatest thing to me, growing up, running in and out, helping as a family member was that the independent pharmacies in town worked together,” said Stewart. “If one was out of a certain kind of medicine and had a patient who needed that, they would go borrow it from each other.

Stewart is a reading teacher at Len Lastinger Primary and says she still uses the lessons her father taught her as she was growing up in the store.

“It always seemed like a family, our customers,” said Stewart. “Anyone who came through our door was doing us a favor, to be our customers and use our business. That has carried me through my life. They’re [parents of students] giving me the privilege of teaching their child.”

And Strange’s impact wasn’t limited to his customers and family.

At his retirement party, Julie Knight, manager of the Wal-Mart pharmacy Strange was working, praised him in a speech.

“It’s difficult to express the respect and admiration we all have for you,” said Knight.

“The qualities I admire most about you—your integrity, character, faith, kindness and service to others—were not based on anything I was told, but based on the way you treat others and you actions. That speaks volumes.

“Your legacy endures because you taught by action and led by example.”

Time will tell if Strange’s second retirement takes, but for his part he thinks it will.

He’s planning to use the new free time taking care of his yard and taking on woodworking projects, building a wagon and shelves for his first great-grandchild.

CUTLINES

Strange 1: Walter Strange

Strange 4: Walter Strange outside his downtown Strange’s Pharmacy.

Strange 5: Walter Strange, center, with his wife, Murthal, inside Strange’s Pharmacy.

Photo: Walter Stange’s retirement party was held at the Tifton Museum of Arts and Culture.

Photo 2: Walter Strange, center, joined by several people he worked with at Walmart: Julie Jill Knight, Shameka Smith, Melanie Gilmore, Strange, Myeshea Hudson and Melanie Hasty.

Photo 3: Walter Strange with his family. Left to right are son-in-law David Stewart, daughter Angela Stewart, Strange, great-granddaughter Salem Warnock, granddaughter Mandy Warnock and grandson-in-law Caleb Warnock.