LEESBURG – At 90 years old, Monva Jean Lursen has no plans to stop working as a Leesburg Elementary School cook.
She started working there in 2005 when the school was at its former location downtown Leesburg. She turned 90 on Aug. 31.
She had worked at Flexsteel for 16 years before retiring from there.
A Leesburg school supervisor asked Lursen to come work as a cook. She decided to take the job because she lived only a mile away and wanted something to do “and then I just enjoyed it, working with everybody and the kids,” she said.
“She never misses a day,” said Manager Tammy Tilton. “She can outwork all of us. She’s giddy up and go.”
“Hopefully, she’ll hold up at least another five years until I retire,” said Tilton. “Because she’s irreplaceable. She’s just that good. She comes in and does her job. I mean she’s got her work space - do not come in her work space. She knows her job.”
Andrea Schilling said the cafeteria serves over 400 kids a day. Tilton said 300 students are served breakfast at the kindergarten through sixth grade school.
Lursen talked about the changes she has seen in food service since she started working at Leesburg.
“Before, years ago, we served the food. (Students) had to have what we made. They did not get a choice at the old school. And then when we came (to the new school), things started to change,” Lursen said.
Now, students get two choices.
Also, there was a time when the cafeteria staff took turns cooking and doing dishes, Lursen said. “Now we’ve got our own thing to do.”
“(Lursen)’s our fruit lady,” said Tilton. Lursen also does line work, as well as help others when needed.
One of the changes Lursen noticed with fruit is it used to be doled out to students and now is put into cups. Putting all the fruit in cups is part of Lursen’s prep work each day. Prep work depends on what fruit is being “doled out” for the day.
Lursen usually gets into work at 7:30 a.m. and the first students get served breakfast at 9 a.m.
“So then she does the lunch fruit and serves it all. She’s got to open up the passthrough, get the food out, take care of the whole line. I mean she takes care of the whole line. I mean, she’s no slacker,” Tilton said.
Lursen said also talked about the relationships she has with the kids and staff at Leesburg.
She said there have been several students throughout the years that have come up to Lursen and wanted hugs from her.
“It makes me feel really good,” Lursen said.
Tilton said she probably gets singled out because Lursen has been at the school since the students have been babies.
When her 90th birthday party was thrown at the school, people working here never knew Lursen was 90, Tilton said, so she had all kinds of people coming to celebrate and say they didn’t realize she was 90.
“And the kids were great that day, too,” Lursen said.
“We’re like one big family here,” Tilton said.
Lursen said she plans on staying at Leesburg Elementary for as long as she can. She said when she is told she is slacking off, she said she’ll leave. “Then, I’ll probably stay home.” She has 10 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
“I mean I love my job and I come to work,” Lursen said. “I don’t know why I would want to go somewhere else.”