Not all stories are mine to tell, and some are told better over a beer than through a blog, but roughly six months after she applied for early retirement based on a disability, Susan received a phone call Tuesday afternoon informing her that Wednesday would be her last day of work with the FAA.

I’ve been to plenty of retirement parties over the past few decades. In fact, just last year Susan and I attended a retirement dinner for a coworker of ours. Roughly forty people came together at a local restaurant to eat, share stories, and toast a guy who spent a good portion of his life in public service. While waiting for the festivities to begin, I remember looking around the room and thinking “when Susan retires, we’re going to have to rent a concert hall.”

Instead, Susan was given one full work day to clean out her desk, close out her network accounts, retrieve any personal information from her email and computer, and transfer the current status of all her projects to her coworkers. Halfway through the day security disabled her network access, bringing a sudden and unceremonious end to both her workday and her career.

I’ve made this same joke a few times over the past few days — that I’m the guy who takes home office supplies, and Susan’s the one who, when she finds them, returns them to the office. Susan may be the most honest, most dedicated, and hardest working government employee on the planet. Since announcing her retirement, dozens and dozens of people have contacted each of us, some to make sure Susan’s okay (she is) but mostly to tell her how great it has been to work with (and in many cases, for) her. It’s difficult to express in words what a great and dedicated employee Susan has been for nearly three decades. Susan has made many sacrifices to give her all on every project, every single day. Not only has she made the FAA a better place (which she unarguably has), but she has been a positive influence on many people’s lives. She’s been a positive role model, a mentor, and to many, a friend. It’s not that the government could use another Susan O’Hara — it’s that they could use a thousand Susans.

Some of those achievements have come through personal sacrifice. Susan always done the right thing, even when it’s not the easy thing. She has stood up to people who weren’t doing what was best for project or the government in general. Over the years she has missed a few family celebrations because of work, but more often than that she has spent time in airports and in the air off the clock to ensure that she could attend band performances, school plays, and birthdays.

A couple of years ago, Susan was diagnosed with Lipoedema, which according to Wikipedia is “an abnormal build-up of fat in your legs and sometimes arms [that] can be painful and affect daily life.” Just last year Susan had three surgeries to deal with the nodules in her legs that, among other things, put so much pressure against her joints that her knees dislocate on a nearly daily basis. The condition is made worse by stress, and flying makes her legs swell up to the point where she cannot walk. After making a request for reasonable accommodations at work… all I can say is, it was heartbreaking to watch the agency in which she gave so much to treat her with such indifference.

I suppose I’m a bit more bitter about the way things happened than Susan is; then again, that’s me, and that’s Susan. Here is what Susan had to say about her retirement on Facebook:

I wanted to let you know that my last day with the FAA is Wednesday January 11. After walking into the FAA 28 years ago as a contractor hired to type (yes, TYPE) in ‘all’ the accident reports for the agency, and then as a federal employee for 24 years, 3 months and 1 day (who’s counting!), I never thought I would see this day come so fast.

This job has given me so much opportunity, from travelling internationally, working on surprise inspection projects, converting the accounting systems to be Y2K compliant, building amazing new systems that solved big problems, to the opportunity to set strategy for and to help hire in the next generation of FAA employees and managers. The most meaningful things this career has given me is a fantastic set of colleagues and (so many!) experiences that I will continue to cherish. I will surely take all of my fond memories of the FAA into the next chapters of life. Thank you for all you’ve done to support, mentor, and believe in me and each other. Keep up the great work, but don’t forget to have a good laugh every day!

Take care, and thanks for all the memories! Thank you for your time! Be well, do good deeds and keep in touch!!!

– Susan O’Hara (January 11, 2023)

Since being diagnosed with lipedema, Susan has published a book (Jeans on a Beach Day), started her own blog (LegsLikeMine.com, and begun working with a shoe designer in hopes of making comfortable and stylish shoes for other women with the same condition. Neither of us knows how profitable her venture will be, but if you know Susan you know that’s not the point. Money was never the point. All Susan has ever wanted to do, and will continue to do, is make the world a better place. For 28 years she did it for the federal government, and she’ll continue to do it for as long as she can.