Goodbye, Sally Naas. You’ll be missed!

Sally Naas, staff support coordinator and self-appointed “Head of Richmond Hospital,” approached her retirement tea with the characteristic candidness her colleagues have come to expect.

Sally and Harjender Walia.

“Hey Sally, when’s your first day back as a casual,” a colleague called out from the audience. “Never! I’m never coming through that tunnel again!”

To mark the occasion, friends and colleagues gathered Tuesday afternoon to say a formal goodbye to someone whose wit and professionalism will be sadly missed.

“I don’t think any of us can deny the great humour, the candidness that Sally brings into her conversations,” said Rich Dillon, director, Clinical Planning. “I think the one word I would use to summarize her time here is passion; she always delivers a lot of passion to her work.”

“I showed up and I tried. I just did the best I could do,” interjected Naas. “And that’s another word for passion,” corrected Dillon.

Sally and friends at Tuesday’s Retirement Tea.

These characteristic back-and-forths and good-natured ribbing were all part of the fun of working with Naas, and staff from across the hospital agree, she will be missed.

Naas has fewer than two weeks of work in front of her before she leaves Richmond Hospital for the last time. Her final shift ends of the morning of Christmas Day, just a few months shy of the date 30 years ago, April 13, 1987, when she first set foot in Richmond Hospital.

And what is she looking forward to doing most? Going to sleep at a reasonable hour. “I spent most of my career on nights,” she said. “I spent years hating people who got to go to bed at night.”

Happy retirement, Sally!