KEARNS, Utah — A crossing guard in Kearns is proving that age doesn’t have to slow you down. Ray Weber has been helping students safely cross the street for 24 years.
On Tuesday, he celebrated a major milestone — his 90th birthday — still showing up for the job with the same energy and enthusiasm. “Good morning, you guys! Hello princess!” Weber called out to students as they arrived at West Kearns Elementary on Tuesday morning.
Many of the children know him by name, including students like 9-year-old Avia Burt. “He helps people and he also is really nice and funny,” Burt, a third grader at West Kearns Elementary said.
“Sometimes when I’m walking to school, he tells me some jokes and stuff,” she said, admitting most of them are “dad jokes.”
Weber, who grew up in Park City, took the job after retiring from his 35-year-old career in the printing industry. He said he wanted something that would keep him physically active, so he put on a fluorescent yellow-green vest and picked up a stop sign.
Watch: Crossing Guard Day
But it’s the students who keep him coming back. “They’re funny. It’s great interacting with the kids,” Weber said. “They’ll come along and pick up rocks along the sidewalk or the gutter and bring them over to share with us.”
He even convinced his wife to join him as a crossing guard.
Despite turning 90, Weber said he doesn’t feel his age. “When I’m just thinking of me and my personality and how I appear to other people, I’m 40 years old,” he said. “That’s the way I look at myself — until I look in the mirror.”
So what’s his secret to a long life?
“Stay young, be happy, laugh a lot, have a good time,” Weber said. “Be active, like what you do.”
Leave a Reply