Tuesday, January 10, 2006 at 8:30 PM
The End of The Road
I got an email yesterday from one of my old co-workers at D.E.P. She wrote to tell me that our colleague Ching, (recently retired) had passed away. It shouldn't have been a shock to me, but it was. Ching was in her late 60s...maybe early 70s and she had respiratory problems. I remember talking to her before I left the job in October. We both had "issues" with our boss and were planning ways to leave the job. In many ways, she was like a grandmother to me. When I left D.E.P., she gave me a business card holder "for your new career as a lawyer...you will be a really great one" she said. I told her that I would be back for her retirement party...but she declined the retirement party and slipped out quietly, promising to come back and clean out her cubicle.
So she retired Nov. 1st, 2005 in her usual, quiet way. In December, I heard that she was admitted to the hospital for a respiratory ailment. She was released. I made a mental note to call her, but somehow the time got away from me...and then the new year rolled around and I was waiting for my cell phone minutes to reset so I could make the call (what an idiot I am) because I didn't want to call her late at night...then the email came that said she passed away. And I was too late anyway. Damn. Not even a moment to enjoy her retirement. Damn. And I didn't get to say goodbye. It's amazing how memory returns in moments like these. I often find it difficult to remember things unless I write them down (or they're particularly memorable events). But all of a sudden, I find myself remembering conversations and interactions with her as though they happened just this morning.
The statement from our D.E.P. team says it better than I could have...it's sad/scary to think that this is all that remains after 25 years of service. She will be missed.
On December 29th, after more than 25 years with the Department, Dr.
Ching Volpp passed away. Dr. Volpp had most recently worked in DEP's
Water Monitoring and Standards' Bureau of Water Quality Standards and
Assessment. She had quietly retired from State service on November 1st.
During her time with the Department, Dr. Volpp had worked in a number
of programs. She helped with the establishment of the NJPDES program
and for many years was responsible for developing human health criteria
for use in the Surface Water Quality Standards, the Ground Water Quality
Standards, and the Site Remediation program. She will be remembered by
her friends and colleagues as an extremely dedicated and conscientious
individual in her professional work. She was a very kind person with
an unassuming nature who always looked for a way to help others. Ching
was very caring about her colleagues and their families, sharing in our
celebrations and sorrows. She will be greatly missed by all who knew
her. *Mary Wallace*, Water Monitoring and Standards Program
(777-0245), is accepting contributions to a charity of Ching's family's
choice, in her memory.
C r i n g e r's two cents:
And you were against the union workers and their goals during the strike. Its things like that that scare me. I rather retire at 50 and live off of SS than to wait til 65 and live off dialysis or inhalers or worse a respirator months/years later. Life is too short to be putting in all that time in an occupation. There a guy at my job now who had bypass surgery last year and already relapsed a couple of weeks ago and was back at work a week later. In my head I'm like come on!!!!! That 1st one was enough for me to call it a wrap and either go per diem or just retire. What are you stressing for. I'm sure the house is paid for by now. I don't know. My condolences to your ex-co-workers family. All I can say is seek waelth through happiness casue money doesn't create long term smiles, it just causes problems for you to invest in.
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Dee's two cents:
I hate to get all political at a moment like this. P, I am sorry for your loss.
Cringer, it is not often that people die so soon after retirement. Your coworker, and P's are the sad exceptions. That is why the MTA would like the retirement age to be a little higher. All those workers coming off of retirement and living to 85 wil bankrupt the system. Even IBM is freezing pensions. It is our responsibility to take care of ourselves, not our company's. However long you live after retirement has a lot of factors to it. But we cannot point the finger at the company you worked for. Nobody is stopping you from retiring at 42 if you want to. When you retire is really your business. But please don't expect to be a burden on the rest of the working public.
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Queen Bee's two cents:
Yes, Cringer...and I'm still opposed to what was going on with the transit workers during the strike. People had been telling Ching to retire for years and she didn't want to do it. She was just too committed to the job. She would always ask "well who's going to do this when I leave?". There were alot of folks at D.E.P. who retired and then came back because they felt like they just didn't have "purpose" without a job. I don't know.
All I know is, it's really sad that she passed this way :-(.
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Ananse's Web's two cents:
YOu always hope that when people retire they get a chance to enjoy their lives and all they have worked for. Sorry about your loss
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