The folks who wonder when Albertine Sellers might retire from the City and County of Denver might as well stop with their speculation.
As long as her mind is sharp and her fingers are flexible, Sellers, 90, plans to keep working. Even after reaching her 70th anniversary with the city this fall.
“No. 1, I do not want to retire, because I would not be able to stay here in this house and look at these walls 24/7,” she said. “And No. 2, as long as I can think and as long as I can use my hands, I am still willing to work.
“And, really, I enjoy working.”
Sellers celebrated her 70th anniversary on Oct. 17 with a party hosted by the Denver Department of Public Safety, where she works in the human resources office. She is Denver’s longest-serving employee in its 167-year history, so far as anyone knows.
For those keeping track, Sellers has been an employee for 42% of Denver’s entire history as a city.
Every Monday through Thursday, Sellers spends eight hours scanning police officer and firefighter personnel records into the safety department’s computer system as part of its conversion to an electronic system.
For many, it would be boring.
For Sellers, no job is too small.
“I enjoy doing whatever I’m assigned to do,” she said. “If it’s something new, show me what you want me to do and I’ll do it.”
Sellers arrives at her office in downtown’s Republic Plaza tower at 8 a.m. sharp, dressed in a suit and with impeccable makeup. She no longer drives, so another city employee gives her a ride every day.
Sellers is considered old-fashioned by many. She still sends thank-you notes, dresses up every day and quotes scripture on her home answering machine.
“I give thanks to God every day that I can still take care of myself, take care of my house and go to work every day,” she said.
Jinna Berry, Sellers’ supervisor in the safety department, said she was relieved when Sellers was assigned to her department. The safety department needs to scan personnel files dating back to the 1950s. Various people in the office were scanning when they had some extra time, but the project has dragged on for nearly 10 years.
With Sellers at the scanner, there’s noticeable progress.
“It would be really hard for me to find somebody else to fill that position that gets enjoyment out of it,” Berry said. “It’s a very dull task, day after day.”
Sellers enjoys knowing her assignment each day. She’s good at organizing the paperwork, which often comes in a pile with nothing in order, Berry said.
“At the end of the day, her desk is all cleaned and picked up,” Berry said. “You can tell she still takes pride in work even after being here for 70 years.”
The safety department colleagues know not to mention the word “retirement.”
“She will give you a look,” Berry said.
Friends marvel at Sellers’ determination to keep working.
“Her life has been really successful,” said Annette Housely, a former coworker who has remained a trusted friend. “Just to watch her and her faith and her consistency in getting up every day to go to work, even when she’s not feeling good … I’m just amazed at her.”
Sellers arrived in Denver in 1954 as a 19-year-old high school graduate from Mississippi. Nuns at her Catholic school had recommended she give Denver a try to escape the Jim Crow South and made arrangements for her to find housing in the city.
Sellers got her first job with Denver in October 1955, when she was hired to work as a nurse’s aide in the men’s medical ward at the city-owned Denver General Hospital, now Denver Health Medical Center. She also worked in the newborn nursery and then earned a promotion at the hospital after passing a clerical exam. She worked there for 25 years.
In 1980, she transferred to Denver’s Employment and Training Agency and then dodged a layoff in 1982 by transferring to the Career Service Authority. She’s also worked for Denver Human Services.
Employment at the city has not always been easy for Sellers, especially as she aged and felt that some managers intentionally made life hard to try to force her into retirement.
But determination and a strong faith in God keep Sellers motivated.
In August, Sellers survived the city’s most recent layoffs. But barely.
A human resources manager came to speak to her about the pending cuts, and Sellers, fearing she would be on the list, said she quoted Bible verses:
Galatians 6:7, which tells people they will “reap what they sow.”
Romans 12:19, which says: “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”
Sellers did not want to lose her job. So she offered a solution, suggesting the city reduce her to part time.
Now she works 32 hours per week and still has benefits.
Still, the layoffs were painful, Sellers said, knowing that good people who were supporting their families were forced out the door.
“It really hurts my heart when I think about it,” she said.
Sellers has long been known as a strong advocate for herself.
In 2015, Sellers famously shamed then-Mayor Michael Hancock when the city failed to buy a 60-year service lapel pin and instead gave her a 15-year pin as a placeholder.
Hancock personally awarded her a 60-year pin in a ceremony 17 months later.
This year, city officials had learned their lesson and a 70-year pin was ready in time for Sellers’ party. The Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure made her a commemorative street sign, and she soon will receive a framed American flag that flew over the Colorado Capitol.
At the party, Sellers gave a speech. She closed with a mic drop.
“I said, ‘In closing’ — and I had a mic — ‘I do not plan to retire!’ ” she said. “Everyone bust up clapping and laughing.”
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