She lit up every room she was in. For Graff-Pinkert and Co., today she would have been accurately called Chief Operating Officer. She always called my brother and I “the boys” and my dad and his partner Mr. Graff and Mr. Pinkert.
She was the spirit of the company.
Arlene Leshner died yesterday at 95 years old.
From the beginning of my work life, I knew Mrs. Leshner. That was what we always called her. I called her that when I first walked up the steep flight of stairs in Graff-Pinkert’s two-story 1903 building next to a chop shop on the South Side of Chicago. Occasionally, there would be an assassination in front of the company, related to the chop shop. My father’s Cadillac had its doors removed one day, we assumed by our neighbor. Mrs. Leshner dealt with the insurance company, which recovered them just a couple of days later.
Mrs. Leshner always greeted us with a smile. Even when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, she worked exuding happiness and confidence. It seemed like she managed everything with aplomb. Trucking, she arranged it. Shipping from England, no problem. Extracting Conomatics out of the Atchison, Kansas, caves, we left her the paperwork. Graff-Pinkert would have floundered without the touch of Arlene Leshner.
My dad had an up-and-down personality, but Mr. Graff was no problem for Mrs. Leshner. We all took a lot for granted in those days. Mrs. Leshner seemed to take care of everything. For me, she was half mom and half Graff-Pinkert’s organizing force.
We knew her daughters, Helen and Deena, and her husband, Lou. We were his best customer for his janitorial supplies business, which their son-in-law Howie took over when Lou took ill.
When we finally moved away from the railroad tracks next to the chop shop and built a new building in the suburbs, we knew it would be tough for her to reach us, but she managed for many years.
In 2000, Mrs. Leshner finally gave up the commute. Her husband was sick, and her daughters had gotten married and moved further north.
She was irreplaceable. Mrs. Leshner knew us, understood our families, and knew the business from A to Z. It’s hard to find people like her. She loved her work, and we loved her.
As she got older, I prayed for her good health. It did not feel like an odd thing to do.
Arlene Leshner has died now at 95 years old. The world is a richer place because of her.
I’m sure other small companies have employees like Mrs. Leshner. I imagine they are rare today, but I would love to hear your story about a person like Arlene Leshner who enriched your life like she did ours.
Question: Who is your company’s Mrs. Leshner? Who is the spirit of your company?
5 Comments
Thanks for sharing your heartwarming story. It is good to know there are still some family businesses that treat their employees as family. We did for many years and can look back on all the great memories and smile.
Very nice tribute. She sounds like she was a wonderful human being.
Sorry to hear of the loss of Mrs. Leshner. 95 years is a pretty good life. Having a loyal and competent employee as Mrs. Leshner allows a company to flourish. We need more like her.
In MBA school we teach about Responsibilities and Authorities, Official, Operative, and Operational goals.
In organizations with a Mrs. Leshner all that MBA stuff is just dust on the dashboard.
Our performers are the ways and means of our companies, and without folks like this, every day is just a battle. And a tie is often accepted as a victory- we all have “those days.”
With folks like this in our companies, our customers find joy in dealing with us. Promises made are promises kept, good will is presumed, and best efforts are considered the minimum acceptable. Thanks for sharing the story about the Graff-Pinkert Den Mother. Appreciate getting “the rest of the story.”
What a beautiful tribute to an amazing and important person. We’ve been blessed with many long term VIP’s in our 55 year old small diameter Swiss shop in Hillsboro, Oregon. There’s only 14 of us left but our average tenure is 21 years (and that’s including our 1 year new hire). In fact, today is the 48th anniversary for our VP. I feel grateful to have spent the last 25 years of my life with these fine folks.