Shoppers, coworkers mourn the loss of longtime Publix employee

FORT MYERS, Fla.- If you’ve been to the Colonial Crossings Publix lately, you may notice that it’s not quite the same.

Shoppers, coworkers, friends and family are all mourning the death of Grace Carey. Carey worked at the store bagging groceries until she was 98 years old.

Between the hundreds of shoppers she encountered every day to the coworkers who became friends, she touched many lives.

“She’s an incredible woman. We come here twice a week. She was always with a smile. Very friendly,” said Publix shopper, Denise King

For Publix shoppers like King, going to the grocery store wasn’t just a routine errand. To many, it was the chance to visit with an old friend. Grace Carey worked at the Publix, pushing carts and bagging groceries.

“She just wasn’t feeling herself– says I don’t feel myself and they said why don’t you go home and get some rest and we’ll see you Wednesday–I gave her a hug and a kiss goodbye and she said ‘I’ll see you Wednesday’ and I came in Tuesday morning to find out she had passed away,” said Lori Minor, a coworker of Carey’s.

In lieu of flowers, Carey asked for donations to be made to the Harry Chapin Food Bank.

“It doesn’t surprise me. It really doesn’t. It was really sweet of her family and her to think of us that way and we appreciate it very much,” said Miriam Pereira, Director of Development for the Harry Chapin Food Bank.

When we spoke to Carey about six months ago, she said never wanted to retire and that all she wanted was to be around people.

“It feels great. I feel like people love me as much as I love them,” said Carey, in May of 2014.