St Albans man celebrates 80th birthday at work but has no intention of stopping

Alan Redfern reached his 80th birthday last week, after originally starting work in 1960

Born in 1937, just after President Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn in for his second term, the father or two and grandfather of six, has worked for the Seventh Day Adventist Church on St Peter’s Street for 26 years.

He originally qualified as a chartered accountant way back in 1960, and once developed his own accounting programme, which he stored on floppy disks. He started work at the Church in 1990, eventually rising to the position of Senior Regional Manager for the Church’s Auditing Service.

His hubris never stopped at the office however. He has always found time to learn new languages, play the piano, and increase what his son Ian, from Alan’s 52-year marriage to wife Joyce, calls “his truly encyclopaedic knowledge of a remarkable number of subjects.”

Ian added “I think his main motivation is he enjoys his work and enjoys helping people.”

The Church held a surprise party for Alan, complete with cake, where his boss Sandra Grice praised his “good sprit” and how he is “always willing to learn and grow and share his knowledge with others.”

Alan’s assistant, Vera Gietzmann, said: “He is the most amazing colleague I’ve ever worked with.”

She highlighted his patience and calmness “even when he may need to explain something for the 1,000th time!”

Alan, speaking at the party, said: “I still feel so young. With a team like this, I am now ready to face the next 20 years.”