Roger, who enjoyed the morning tea with his wife Denise, had ‘officially’ been on the pay roll since 2000, but prior to taking up his duties, he had put in many hours of voluntary work for the school spanning over 45 years.

“Our family as had a close affinity with St Patricks,” Roger said.

“My mother Val attended the school and although I went to La Salle, my sisters Judy, Cheryl and Annette were educated here.

“My three children Dean, Michael and Michelle also attended St Patricks and like most families, we attended voluntary working bees and did what had to be done when asked by the school.”

After his years of voluntary work Roger, who had recently retired from the powerhouse, was asked by then principal Pam Haddin was he interested in taking up the role as groundsman and on agreeing, she put him to work there and then.

Current principal Robert Keady spoke in glowing terms of Roger’s commitment and dedication saying: “After failing to get Roger to change his mind about retiring, our staff, children and parents would like to thank him for his efforts over the years.

“There is nothing Roger can’t do or fix; he works regularly over his allotted hours in his own time to keep things ticking over and takes great pride in everything he does.

“He will be a real loss to the school and we wish him well.

“Roger is not only a member of the staff, he is a very popular member of our St Pats family and we are all very sad to see him go.”

On accepting a gift and well wishes from the staff, Roger said he would now be doing a bit of travelling and swapping his paid position as a handyman to take up an unpaid position as a handyman for his wife Denise and family members.

Following the morning tea, Roger was then honoured with a school assembly where the children had a chance to farewell him.