When you spend 40 years in a relationship, chances are you'll be a bit emotional when it ends.
So it is with Johnny Andrews, who spent his entire professional career with Sears, leaving in 1994 as a department manager of the Gainesville store, which is set to close permanently at the end of March.
Andrews, who is 82, reflected recently on his time with the company, and it still holds a special place in his heart, even though he retired almost 25 years ago.
Andrews said it's not easy watching the Gainesville store close, along with dozens of others, as the company battles through financial hardship.
"Sears - a store of integrity, an organization of integrity - at one time," Andrews said. "All the brands were famous - Kenmore, Coldspot, Craftsman. I hate to go into another store and see Craftsman [sold] there."
Despite the disappointment he feels at watching the Sears store in Gainesville disappear from the retail landscape, Andrews chooses to reflect on the happiness his Sears career brought him. He said he was prompted to apply for employment at the Sears store on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta after he graduated from high school.
"After I spent my summer after graduation being a leisurely person hanging out at the pool all of the time, my mother and my grandmother kind of cornered me and said, 'You need a job.' I said, 'I agree. I need a job. What do I do? Go to Sears?' And there it went," Andrews said.
He said it wasn't quite smooth sailing at the onset, however. He said he was fired briefly not too long after he started.
Andrews said he had other challenges along the way. Managers would place him in various departments to see where he would be most successful. While he truly excelled at hardlines sales - hardware in particular - he was ordered to try his hand at fashion sales at one point. He said it wasn't his cup of tea, but he had some good co-workers who walked him through each phase.
Eventually, in 1969, Andrews landed at the Sears store at Sherwood Plaza in Gainesville, where he served as the third hardlines merchandise manager for the store. He remembers the move to Lakeshore Mall in 1987 as a smooth transition, mainly he said, because of the strong team of employees at the Gainesville store. Some customers were a little wary about moving the store to a mall setting.
Andrews said after he left Sears in 1994, he didn't return to the Gainesville store, even for a quick shopping trip. He did, however, keep up with the people who worked with him. Retirees from the Gainesville store would meet for lunch before busy schedules and then declining health put an end to those meetings.
Andrews said he remembers managers at higher levels commenting that Sears would never go bankrupt - they believed the company was on firm footing. Of course, that turned out not to be true.
"My hurt right now is for the people, not only the people who are working there [now], but I know a bunch of retirees [who are struggling]. Sears stock is down to 25-cents a share, and their retirement was based on the stock value," Andrews said.
Despite the heartache of watching the Sears he knew disappear into an uncertain financial future, Andrews said the positive experiences he had with the retailer far outweighed the bad.
"It was a love affair," Andrews said, choking up a little. "That's my love," he said, gesturing to his wife Mary Frances, who was there for the conversation." But [Sears] was the love of my life, honestly. I loved it. It was enjoyable and I loved going to work every day."
Editor's note: Be sure to click on the SoundCloud audio to hear portions of Andrews' interview.
