Community Corner

At 90, June Springer Still Loves Going to Work

Alexandrian June Springer, a receptionist at Caffi Plumbing, says working keeps her active and happy.

What’s the secret to a long and happy life? For June Springer, it is—to paraphrase Theodore Roosevelt—the chance to work hard at work worth doing.

Springer, who turned 90 last week, still works full-time as a receptionist at Caffi Plumbing and Heating on Powhatan Street. Her coworkers threw her a lunchtime shindig that included cake, a photo slideshow of her nine decades, a proclamation and visit from Mayor Bill Euille, and hugs and chats with visiting friends. 

“Work really is it,” Springer said about reaching 90. “I’ve been working since I was 14, and really haven’t stopped.” 

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A native of Pennsylvania, Springer was stationed in Alexandria in 1943 and 1944 with the U.S. Naval Reserve as a WAVE—Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service. She returned to Alexandria after World War II and has made her home in the city for most of the last 65 years.

“This city has changed so much,” Springer said on her birthday, wearing a long, elegant dress and several strings of pearls. “It was a small town back then. You knew everyone. Now with all these big buildings it’s a big city but still with a small town atmosphere.”

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She later joined the Army during the Korean War and then the Naval Reserve a second time in 1963.

“My son was 17 and we enlisted together,” she said. “He went to Vietnam and thankfully came back.”

She used to work two jobs to support her son, often waiting tables at night.

Now 68, her son lives on the West Coast and has two sons of his own—one in the Navy, the other a tugboat operator. Springer also has a 7-year-old great-granddaughter.

She joined the Caffi office seven years ago and walked to work each day until undergoing hip-replacement surgery in 2010.

“I decided we’d cover the bases until she came back,” said Ron Caffi, president of Caffi Plumbing. “She was out a few months, but we weren’t going to replace her.”

These days, she makes a three-block cab ride each morning from her home to the Caffi office. She arrives promptly at 6:30 a.m. and answers phones and helps where she’s needed. Caffi said she will proofread contracts and other documents. Coworkers rave about her handwriting, a perfect cursive, and professionalism. She then heads home at 2:30 p.m.

“She just has a calm way about her,” Caffi said. “She takes things in stride and offers really good advice.”

In her free time, Springer says she enjoys reading books and makes time to help disabled veterans. She also loves to go out to dinner and regularly visits the Kennedy Center.

“I’m very spontaneous,” she said. “If someone says go, I’m there.” 

She plans to keep working as long as she can. 


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