It's not the same old grind

Why a 90-year-old optician still finds meaning in working.

By Jodie Tillman, Times Staff Writer
Published February 10, 2008

Every weekday morning, John Proies reports to work at a manufacturing plant. On Saturdays, he putters around the house. On Sundays, he sleeps late.

Just another week in the life of a typical working man. Except Proies is 90 years old.

"I told my priest that when I quit work," he said, "I'll go to church."

Don't expect to see him in the pews any time soon.

Proies sounds like "choice" has no plans to retire from his part-time job as an optician at VLOC, a high-tech company that makes crystals and optical components for lasers used in the military, industrial and medical markets. VLOC, which employs about 230 people at its Trinity location, is a subsidiary of Pennsylvania-based II-VI Inc., a public company.

His duties at VLOC include grinding glass lenses, an intricate task that demands precise measurements, and making prisms.

"It's very intriguing," Proies said. "The work is so close, and when I get it right, I feel so good."

Proies' experience in the optics field dates to 1940 when he worked for a lens manufacturer in New York. When he and his late wife, Thelma, moved to Port Richey more than 25 years ago, he got a job at one of the companies that eventually became part of VLOC.

Lucky for him, he chose an industry whose essentials haven't changed all that much: Much of the delicate work with the glass still requires careful, competent human hands.

"He does a lot of the intricate work," said supervisor Randy Mickey, who is in his early 40s. "A lot of the stuff that he used around World War II, he brought to this facility."

Proies, known by everyone, including himself, as "the Greek," has a reputation for being the life of the holiday party. Last year he danced until midnight, long after much younger co-workers headed home.

So what makes a man who draws monthly pension payments show up for work 30 years after it would have been acceptable to stop?

"I love the precision and the competition," he said. "I'm competing against myself."

This makes sense given his history of ambition, in work and play. When he had his job in New York, he started at the bottom and worked his way up the chain, eventually becoming foreman. And that lean frame of his was built at the gym and the track.

"I was determined. I used to say if you can do it, I can do it better," Proies said. "I did it with all my heart. When we played handball, I used to beat the beans out of my buddies."

Another reason Proies still clocks in every day: Work helps beat the loneliness. His wife ("She looked like Rita Hayworth") died about 10 years ago. "When I'm at home," he said, "all I do is cry."

Proies, who could pass for much younger than 90, has good genes on his side. His mother was 87 when she died, his father 92.

But he also takes care of himself. He eats small meals - lots of chicken and vegetables - and takes only a baby aspirin and saw palmetto each day. He walks on a treadmill for 15 minutes three times a week and does arm exercises with two 4-pound weights.

He stopped smoking about 25 years ago. "One day I was in the garage, and I got a pain and I says, 'Greek, don't be stupid.' And I took them cigarettes and smashed them in my hand and that was it."

And he allows himself a healthy indulgence every afternoon after work.

"I get home and I have my bran flakes, a nice big bowl," Proies said. "Then I watch TV and take a nap."

Jodie Tillman can be reached at jtillman@sptimes.com or (727) 869-6247.

[Last modified February 10, 2008, 01:26:42]