FORNEY, TEXAS - Connie Claxton is as much a Whataburger fixture as the fancy ketchup.
The gray-haired woman punched orders into a computer during the lunch rush at a Forney store Thursday, briefly stopping to help employees a third of her age wrap burgers and salt fries.
Her name tag serves as the resume of her life: Connie Claxton, 39 years of service.
Thursday, the 69-year-old assistant manager celebrated her 40th anniversary with the Corpus Christi-based company.
"It been a big part of my life," she said. "If I didn't have this to get up for, I'd be lost."
It's not hard to see why the all-night burger joint means so much to Claxton.
As a bubbly 29-year-old, Claxton was offered a job at a Whataburger by franchisee owner John Heiman. Heiman figured she'd likely last a few months, not four decades.
The job helped Claxton buy a new car in cash, and she never missed a payment on her home as she raised two young children.
But her greatest benefit was finding love across the counter.
"Glenn came in and flirted with me," she said with a smile. "I would have married him the next week if he asked me."
Glenn Claxton said he never imaged he'd find love inside a fast-food restaurant.
"I came into a Whataburger 27 years ago for a Whataburger," he said. "I came out with What-a-wife."
The couple tied the knot nine months after their first date.
During her tenure, Claxton, who is employee ID number is 6, has worked at nine different stores and held every job from dishwasher to general manager in the Mesquite Whataburger franchise.
Her devotion to the job has hardly ever wavered.
A few years ago, Claxton quit for three days and began working at McDonald's.
"I hated it so much," she said. "I called Mr. Heiman and begged him to take me back."
With a hesitation, he did.
"We have some real special people, and Connie's one of them," he said.
Her long tenure has made her well-known in the community 18 miles east of Dallas.
Customers said Whataburger wouldn't be the same without Claxton's beaming excitement, and they hope that she never leaves.
"She can't quit," a customer said. "We won't let her. I think there is a city ordinance against it."
Claxton isn't planning on hanging up her apron or sleeping in any time soon.
"I've always said sometime I'll know in my heart when enough is enough, but it hasn't been that way," she said. "I just don't think it's my time to quit."
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram