While at college, Sy Sharp had a realization. It wasn’t for him. “I couldn’t picture myself in a suit or working in an office,” he said. “In high school, I always loved working with my hands in shop class.”

After leaving college, he took a job as an orderly at a nursing home, worked at a packing house, then decided to follow in the footsteps of his father, Silas Sharp, who retired as Metro Transit’s longest-serving employee with 52 years of service. “I grew up around my dad and uncles working on cars at home, so it was always something I thought about,” he said.

In 1979, Sharp started as a sweeper at Nicollet Garage. In 1980, he became a technician, a job he held until his retirement in 2022.

His career helped him put four children through college and provided years of smiles and laughs with co-workers. “This is the best labor job I’ve ever had,” he said. “But it’s time for me to go.”

In retirement, Sharp planned to see the country driving long haul trips, to visit Europe, and to get back to playing music.