90-Year-Old Meat Cutter Finds Retirement Overrated, Keeps Working with Energy and Wit

Jack Smith, a lively 90-year-old from Wellsburg, West Virginia, still wields a meat cleaver with the same energy he had decades ago. Despite retiring 21 years ago, Jack decided that life without work wasn’t for him.

“You get up in the morning and your wife’s gone, God bless her, and that house is lonesome,” he shared. So, when Amy Kocher from Mark’s Carry Out knocked on his door needing a meat cutter, Jack said yes.

Now, he starts his day before dawn, heading to the shop by 6 a.m. to cut meat, make sausage, and unload trucks.

“Usually in the morning between three and four,” Jack said about his early starts. His dedication hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“Nothing stops him,” noted Amy Kocher, co-owner of Mark’s Carry Out, adding that Jack has worked through shoulder injuries, cancer, and more. “He is here day in and day out at six in the morning.”

Jack’s coworkers enjoy his playful personality. “He likes to harass me. He is fun. He is ornery. He is ornery! We gotta reel him in sometimes,” said store employee Tiffany Stepanik, with Kocher agreeing, “Sometimes we need to screen his comments!”

Jack keeps his routine simple, saying, “I get up early because I go to bed early. Where are you gonna go? Wellsburg’s not that exciting.”

His favorite part of the job? “Getting here early,” Jack says with a grin, “because if you don’t, you miss out. On the snacks!”

His humor and work ethic have made him a beloved figure at Mark’s, with customers coming in just to chat. “They love him. We love him. We’re lucky to have him,” added Kocher.

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