After nearly forty years of dedicated work, Ronald “Ron” Burglass is beginning retirement with the same positive attitude he brought to his work.

Ron began his career in 1986 with Waldbaum’s, now Stop & Shop. Over the next 30 years in grocery retail and customer service, he took pride in keeping shelves stocked and helping customers find what they needed.

His more recent position was with BJ’s, a job he advocated for following the pandemic. There, he worked two to three days a week and attended day services on remaining weekdays.

Ron’s support system consists of his siblings, his friends, Care Manager, House Manager, Day Services Manager and Employment Training Specialist (ETS), each playing a role in helping him plan for this next chapter.

“He’s been looking forward to traveling and visiting his family,” said Cathy Hawkins, his longtime ETS and member of his support team.  “Ron has been working for years, and we learned that he was eligible for retirement. When I asked him if he wanted to retire, he said, ‘Yes.’”

Now that he has been retired for a few weeks, Ronald is enjoying Day Services five days a week and spends more time planning trips and visits to family.

“Retirement is good for him,” said Yifan Ge, House Manager at Ronald’s home on Pearl St.  who has known him for fifteen years. “Right now, he’s getting his pension, going to day program, has exercise class on Mondays. He enjoys his life.”

Retirement emerged as a natural next step for Ronald because he was slowing down and wanted more time to enjoy life.

Last year, Ron and his roommates went to Las Vegas. “The trip was good,” Ron said. “We walked around the slot machines,” He shared he didn’t play any casino games, but the group took plenty of photos together while visiting tourist hot spots.

With access to life-affirming supports and services, and many more activities on his bucket list, Ron is looking forward to this wonderful next stage in his life.