Homer Pittard Campus School teachers past and present joined Jimmy Stokes for a retirement party this week. Pictured here are (L to R) Lee Allsbrook John Howse, Joan Mann, Stokes, Nancy Boone Allsbrook, Stan Baskin, Rita King and Amy Jackson.
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Homer Pittard Campus School’s 62-year-old former custodian, Jimmy Stokes, literally gave half of his life to the elementary school.
When the school’s alumni, parents and faculty found out he was retiring, they had to throw him a party. On Thursday night, the people Stokes impacted over 31 years of service showed their appreciation for him at Indian Hills Golf Course’s clubhouse.
Over the summer, back problems forced Stokes to retire from the job and the people he’s loved for decades. One of Stokes’ friends, Karen Burns, said he was having trouble adjusting to retirement, so she helped organize the event to lift his spirits.
She described Stokes as more than just the school’s custodian. To students, everybody knew him as “Mr. Jimmy,” and he fell somewhere in-between faculty and friend.
“We were talking the other day and he said, ‘You know, if I had all the ice cream money I’ve given kids through the years, I’d be a rich man,’” Burns said.
When Diane Florida’s daughter, Morgan, attended Campus School, Stokes would constantly bail her out of bad situations, like when she used to lose her retainer.
“She would take her retainer out, leave it on her lunch tray, it would go into the garbage can and then into the dumpster,” Florida said. “There were countless times that he dug into that dumpster to get her retainer out. There was just nothing that he would not do for any of those kids down there.”
Things like this made Stokes a close friend of Florida and her family. When her son was home sick, Stokes would hand-deliver his homework. When they have family gatherings, he always drives out from his home in Alexandria to show up. Christmas and Halloween parties are never complete without Mr. Jimmy.
Florida had to fight back tears when she recalled the day Stokes told her he was forced to retire.
“He had tried to just go back to work part-time,” she said. “He had been at the school just for a couple of hours, and he came by my house and said, ‘I just can’t do it. I physically can’t do it.’”
Stokes said he is gradually easing into retired life. He’s taken up working on his car and fishing. When Florida referred to him as a “master fisherman,” he just laughed and corrected her, saying he was still learning.
Looking around the room full of children, teenagers and adults who’ve had their lives affected by him, Stokes said he loved seeing the faces of former students he didn’t think he’d ever see again.
“This was outstanding,” he said. “I can’t believe some of the people that have come. It’s gone a long way back, I couldn’t even tell you what year.”
To Florida, it’s hard to imagine the school without Stokes.
“There’s really no measure as to what Campus School lost when Jimmy realized he had to retire,” Florida said. “He truly lives for those kids.” |
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