‘Grandpa Joe': Longtime Hilliard crossing guard retiring
HILLIARD, Ohio (WCMH) — For more than a decade, students in Hilliard City Schools have seen the same face at the corner of Gaymon Road and Avery Road, ready to guide them across the street.
But Friday, the man known as 'Grandpa Joe' is hanging up his crossing guard sign.
Students, staff, and parents gathered this morning to let Joe escort them through the crosswalk one last time.
Joe became a crossing guard after attending the Avery Walk-a-Thon with his granddaughter Kaylee, who was only in Kindergarten at the time.
Kaylee is now in high school, and Joe, who is now 82, decided he was ready to join his wife in retirement.
Over the last decade, parents and school leaders said Joe has become a pillar of the school district, and a grandpa to all.
Joe said he will miss the kids the most, but not, as he put it, the 'stupid drivers.'
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