Bob Mahoney
A Little Bit of Everything
By Suzanne Yeagley
Bob Mahoney likes variety. In his 43 years at the Lighthouse, Bob has worked on everything from mops and sleeping bags to neckties and ribbons. Bob first came through the doors of the Lighthouse in 1972, and has witnessed the different ways the Lighthouse has grown into what it is today.
Bob reminisces on his first few years at the Lighthouse, working under his supervisor Bob Johnson. Johnson was someone that Bob considered to be a mentor, saying that “Bob was really good to me.” Back in those days, Bob worked on packaging ashtrays in cartons for the U.S government. As the years passed by, so did the products that were being made. Most recently, Bob worked in the canteen area boxing the canteens and running the bottle machine that puts the caps on them. He also ran the cap tester, a machine with an air compressor that detects whether or not the canteens are air tight. The caps would be rejected if they did not meet the 100% quality bar.
Other than learning and improving his technical skills, Bob has also grown as a person since working at the Lighthouse. “I think it’s a good place for people to work,” says Bob, “it made me appreciate people with disabilities worse than mine, and to learn to respect others, just as they are.”
Bob recalls his last day at the Lighthouse before beginning retirement in late January 2018. He started off fine in the morning, but by the afternoon this big life change was starting to sink in. When Bob went down to his retirement party and was asked to give a speech, he couldn’t finish his speech due to overwhelming feelings of emotions. “The time went by so quickly,” he says. “I’m glad I retired, but it was really hard for me. The people at the Lighthouse are just like family to me. It was a hard thing, but it was time for me to do it. After 43 years, it was time.”
Today, Bob remains an active member of his community even during his retirement. He is the President of the Fairwood Lions Club in Renton, helping them with glove and coat drives, and working with school nurses to make sure children have the clothes and shoes they need. The Lions also adopt a family at Christmas time and do other things to help people in the community. In addition to going to conventions with the Lions, Bob enjoys swimming and going to the local gym. He has also joined his church choir, where he sings tenor. “I just get around,” he says, and you can believe this is true.