It’s hard to imagine staying at one company your entire life, but that’s exactly what 100-year-old Walter Orthmann has done.
Orthmann began working at Industrias Renaux S.A, now RenauxView, in Santa Catarina, Brazil, in 1938 when he was 15 years old, according to Guinness World Records.
As of Jan. 6, Orthmann has officially worked there for 84 years and nine days, breaking the record for the longest career in the same company.
When Orthmann was 14, he left school to help support his family. He applied for a job at the weaving mill where his mom worked. He began as a shipping assistant but was soon promoted to an assistant clerk, head of invoicing and then sales, until eventually becoming a sales manager. Orthmann said he thought he would be forced to retire in 1978, but thanks to his sales record, the president of the company asked him to stay.
“I have a passion for work, and noticed that most of the people I knew that retired soon lost their will to live,” he told Guinness World Records.
“I like to keep my routine so much that sometimes when I drive to the supermarket I find myself actually driving to the company.”
Orthmann maintains his health by exercising every morning before driving to the office.
“Having something productive to occupy your mind with is food for your physical and mental health,” he said. “I derive pleasure from working because it makes me feel alive.”
Orthmann celebrated his 100th birthday in April with his friends, family and co-workers.
And he isn’t the only centenarian who has kept busy working on his passion as a centenarian.
Iris Apfel, 100, started her career as a copywriter and has worked her way into textile designs where she has become one of fashion’s most recognizable icons. She said she has no plans to retire.
“I think retiring at any age is a fate worse than death,” she told Today. “Just because a number comes up doesn’t mean you have to stop.”
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