“I was raised to get up and go to work, and I thought that’s what everybody did. Turns out, not everybody does that,” said Tom Olcese, retired pharmacist from Shamokin.

Tom and his wife Jean Olcese have three children, all daughters, who are also pharmacists.

“We have two grandsons that are pharmacists, and we’ve had nephews, uncles and cousins. We’ve had 18 all together in our family. Some of them are dead, mind you, but we’ve had 18 pharmacists in our family,” he said.

It’s an occupation that people in his family seem to enjoy.

“I just loved my profession so much. I never coerced my girls into becoming pharmacists. I just never complained about it,” he said.

He said he thinks that because he was an example of enjoying work, it made the work seem appealing to others.

“I enjoyed the people the most. I hired a lady, and she worked for me for 19 years and never missed a day’s work,” he said.

Likewise, in his 38 years as a pharmacist, Tom said he never missed a day’s work.

“If I was sick, I was working. My name was on the front. I went to work every day,” he said.

Tom credits his work ethic to his father, who gave him a good example.

“My father never missed a day’s work, and that’s how I was raised. It’s easier to do it when you love your job. If you don’t love your job, you’ve got a problem,” he said.

Before Tom became a pharmacist, he worked on his father’s coal truck for three years.

“When I look back, I worked hard, but it was a good life lesson. I had calluses on my hands, and we worked when it was cold, hot, rainy or whatever,” he said.

“My father was a very bright man, very organized. He never complained. He taught me to be on time and not to miss a day’s work,” Tom said.

Tom took the lessons his father gave him to heart, and he said he never thought he’d let his pharmacy close just because he got sick.

After a lifetime of working as a pharmacist, Tom has earned his retirement.

“I loved my job, but equally, I love my retirement. People say, ‘what do you do?’ I can look out the window and watch the squirrels run or the birds feed. I’m real easy to please,” he said.

Tom also works out every morning with his wife Jean, who has run the Boston Marathon 13 times. Between reading the newspaper, yard work, cooking and shopping trips with Jean, Tom enjoys finally having some days off.