After working for Tyrone Area School District for the last 12 years, custodian Barry Shaffer is ready for retirement at the end of the 2023-24 school year.

Shaffer spent the first nine years in the district working the second shift at the middle and high school but moved to the first shift staff at the elementary school three years ago.

“Barry has been very reliable and always takes pride in everything he does. He will be missed around the school, and I hope he enjoys his retirement,” said Director of Physical Plant Jordan Good.

Tyrone Area High School Head Custodian Randy Gorecki said he always enjoyed working with Shaffer.

“Barry was always a hard worker. When he was up at the high school he had the responsibility to strip and wax the floors in the summer. He got along great with everyone and did a great job. We are going to miss Barry,” Gorecki said.

In addition to working for Tyrone Area School District, Shaffer also served as the President of the Tyrone Area Support Professionals Association since 2019. The association negotiates contracts with the school district for the support personnel.

Before coming to Tyrone, Shaffer worked at Jostens Printing and Publishing in State College for 31 years until the plant closed and moved its operations to Tennessee.

The closing of the State College Jostens plant was disappointing to Shaffer and many others who worked there. Shaffer said he could have moved to Tennessee but wanted to stay local after growing up in the area and living here his entire life, so he was thankful to find a position in the school district.

Shaffer is a lifetime Golden Eagle, having grown up in Bell Hollow near Port Matilda and graduated from Tyrone Area High School in 1976.

In his newly found free time, Shaffer said that he plans to hunt, travel, visit his family, relax a lot more, and do whatever his heart desires.