Ethel Wilson worked at Wendy’s until she was 97
Longtime hostess at Upper James Street location was a favourite with customers and co-workers
Ethel Wilson had a wish to work until she was 100.
“You don’t think I’m just going to stay around the house, do you?” she told The Spectator in 2011 when she marking her 20th year working at a Hamilton Mountain fast food restaurant.
She was 90 at the time. She almost made it.
She retired in 2018 when she was 97, due to health reasons.
Wilson died Dec. 9, 2020, just after turning 99 the month before, on Nov. 11.
Wilson was a beloved figure at the Wendy’s restaurant on Upper James Street, just south of Mohawk Road East. Customers of all ages came to the place because of her, and many called her Grandma. Store owner Peter Hogarth told The Spec in 2011 she could work at the business as long as she wanted because “she really was the boss around here.”
Wilson worked as a dining room hostess, talking to customers, cleaning tables and, as she quipped, “keeping the kids in line.”
The restaurant put up a sign informing customers Wilson had passed away. Manager Marcy Bowen said it garnered lots of reaction.
“She loved her Wendy’s,” said her son Brian Wilson. “She loved her job. She loved the people. The old people, right away, when they came into the store they would come over and talk to her.”
She was resistant to taking a day off. Wilson walked to work from her home on nearby Luscombe Street. She worked 2530 hours, between Tuesday and Saturday. Later, she got rides to and from her home from staff members.
“She took it to heart,” said her 79-year-old son, a retired steelworker. “She would never take a day off even if she wasn’t feeling well. They would say, ‘If you feel sick, stay home,’ and she’d say, ‘Oh, no.”
Bowen, who has worked at the restaurant since 1986, said it was a sad day when Wilson stopped coming in 2018. She said many asked about her afterwards.
She visited Wilson often, bringing her flowers, a burger and a Coke.
“She was a beautiful lady and she is going to be missed,” said Bowen, who has been manager for 14 years.
Wilson’s uniform was dotted with pins from around the world, given to her by customers and staff
Wilson was a lifelong fan of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and member of the Cats Claws fan club, and enjoyed talking about the Ticats with customers and staff. She had been a seasonticket holder since 1951 and had attended 15 Grey Cups.
Her devotion was so strong Pigskin Pete came to her 2011 party. Her son Brian said his mother “loved her Cats” and you did not dare say anything against them.
“As a former Wendy’s employee, and an avid Ticats fan, most of my breaks were spent talking about the Ticats with Ethel,” former co-worker Ryan Cruickshanks said on social media.
“As I moved on from Wendy’s, I would still stop in to see her. First question was ‘How are the kids?’ and, once that was out of the way, we talked Ticats.”
Wilson was born in Hamilton and held various jobs before she came to Wendy’s. She worked as a seamstress for Eaton’s in downtown Hamilton and at Lennard’s (underwear) Mill in Dundas and the Hamilton Thistle Club on Robinson Street.
Wilson arrived at the restaurant in 1991 when she was 70 through the advice and support of a neighbour, who worked there. The restaurant was the first Wendy’s to open in Canada in 1975
In 2011, Wilson was proclaimed the oldest Wendy’s worker in Canada, possibly in North America.
Other former staff and customers also mourned Wilson on social media.
“She was always such a sweet lady and very nice to talk to,” said customer Andrea Pyke, who said she had missed Wilson since she retired in 2018.
“She was always very proud of what she did and you could tell she really enjoyed it.”
Former co-worker Jessica Martin called her a “beautiful soul” and said she looked forward to seeing her smiling face every day.
“I worked at Wendy’s for a while and after I moved on I would come in,” she said. “She would be smiling and asking how my son is.”
Customer Todd Smith recalled talking to Wilson when he went to Wendy’s for lunch. “She was an inspiration to ’we’ seniors to keep active and engaged in life,” he said.
Wilson is survived by her son Brian, daughter Kay, five grandsons, four great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. She was predeceased by her husband Oliver, who died in 1998.