Paul Poppe’s routine isn’t unusual. Every weekday, he’s on the job at Edmonds Community College by 7:30 a.m. He spends time off watching the Mariners or doing yard work.
So what’s unusual about this busy professional? Well, he was born in 1930.
Not only is Poppe 85, he is the oldest full-time worker employed by Washington state.
“It’s in the DNA, people in our family all work a long time,” the Edmonds man said Monday. “My Uncle Ferd retired from the Department of Agriculture at 90. He was an entomologist.”
Poppe, who has been at EdCC 23 years, is a contract and risk management specialist in the college’s purchasing department. “I make as sure as possible that there are no conflicts, and they comply with all the state rules and regulations regarding contracts.”
Marian Paanane, EdCC’s director of finance, describes Poppe as a reliable and valuable employee. “He is an asset to the college and we are glad he is here,” Paanane said.
Why is he there, though? Why work 20 years longer than most people do?
There’s the practical reason. Poppe, an engineer, was briefly retired years ago. He felt his benefits and assets fell short of his financial needs. He and his wife, Carol, live in their own home in Edmonds. They moved from Texas in the early 1990s to be near a daughter.
There is also a philosophical reason. “I have a political message,” he said. “We should continue to earn our own way, and not depend on our grandchildren to support pension systems. For as long as we can, we should.”
Also, retirement just didn’t suit him. “I had too much going on in my head to retire,” he said. “I tried writing for a while. I wasn’t very good at it.”
Poppe had an inkling he might be in rare company when he read an article a few years ago saying the oldest full-time state employee had retired.
Earlier this year, he requested information from the Human Resources department in the state’s Office of Financial Management. In May, he received data showing — with the other names redacted — the five oldest employees in the state’s higher education and general government categories.
The eldest is an 87-year-old security guard in the state Senate. But that worker is in a temporary position, as is an 85-year-old in the Office of Legislative Support Services. Email from Jennifer Gammell, of the state’s Human Resources department, lists Poppe as the oldest full-timer.
“Good for him,” said Dave Nelsen, assistant director for customer and policy services for the state Department of Retirement Systems.
Nelsen said there are no mandatory retirement ages for Washington’s general public workers, including teachers. Through the years, the state has had mandatory retirement ages for public safety workers and judges, he said. Poppe is part of the state Public Employees’ Retirement System. If he retires, he’ll get benefits from the PERS 2 retirement plan. “He has definitely earned a benefit,” Nelsen said.
Already, he collects Social Security. “I’m still paying into Social Security, and that’s all right,” Poppe said.
Poppe had other work lives before starting his more than two decades at EdCC. A Korean War veteran, he served in the U.S. Army from 1952 to 1954. He was a forward observer for an artillery division in Korea.
He has degrees from Bowling Green University and Iowa State University. He also returned to college for more schooling in information technology.
Poppe was an engineer and plant manager for Bourns Inc., a metric devices electronics company. He also worked in information services for the Hach Company, which makes water quality testing instruments.
Today, Poppe is healthy and has kept up with technology. He likes his co-workers. “I work with very interesting people. They accept me for who I am,” he said.
A child of the Great Depression, he really hasn’t stopped working since 1944 when he took a job at a broom factory. “I was 15,” he said. “During World War II, kids could get jobs. I swept the floor.”
His family has urged him to give up the daily grind. “I’m not ready,” Poppe said. Will he be like his uncle, working at 90?
“I’ll see,” he said. “It’s to be determined.”
Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; jmuhlstein@heraldnet.com.
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