After 65 Years, Loraine Simler Retires from Meritor – in Style

After a 65-year career with what is now , Loraine Simler is finally retiring – but not before receiving one of the most elaborate send-offs in company history.

Wednesday morning, just days before 83-year-old Simler hangs up her keyboard as inside sales coordinator for good, she was greeted by co-workers – hundreds of them – as she arrived to work in a limousine.

Stepping onto the red carpet just inside the doors, Simler received a large bouquet of flowers, enthusiastic applause and dozens of hugs and handshakes as she made her way through hallways lined with co-workers and friends.

"It's hard to believe that all these people have been my friends," Simler said as she was escorted down the hall on Meritor CEO Chip McClure's arm. "So many of them for so many years, it's unbelievable. I love it."

It's not unbelievable for those who know Simler, though.

"She's a great employee, but more importantly, she's a great person," McClure said.

"Sometimes, she was the only friendly voice I heard in a day," said Tom Folsom, a friend of Simler and Meritor retiree.

Mark Mercatante, Simler's boss (though he concedes that nobody is actually the boss of Simler), said he could always count on her.

"She never said no to anything," Mercatante said. "Lorraine is one of the most loyal and dedicated people – not just employee, but people – you would ever want to meet."

He added, "She's not replaceable."

Simler – who was the first woman at the office to be promoted to a managerial position, the first person to use an electric typewriter and the first in the office to receive a computer – was moved by the outpouring of support from fellow Meritor employees.

"I'm going to miss the people," Simler said.

"I never regretted the 65 years I've been here," she added. "I wouldn't give one of them up for anything."