Fast-food giant McDonald’s has honoured an employee with Down’s syndrome, as he retired after 33 years of loyal service.
Daniel Lybrink, a 62 year-old, this week retired as a lobby manger at a McDonald’s branch in Brighton, Michigan, where he started working in 1984, according to local media reports.
His family and friends along with members of the community, who reportedly had been touched by his kindness and smile over the years, threw him a surprise party to celebrate his retirement.
Mr Lybrink, the youngest in a family of six, recently had to cut back to one shift a week after two heart attacks and a knee injury forced him to slow down. However his colleagues praised him, saying he was an “inspiration”.
David Glynn, general manager at the McDonald’s outlet, who worked with Daniel for more than 10 years, told local paper the Livingston Daily that he “makes everybody feel special”.
Other colleagues described him as "hard worker" and a "big help wherever you needed him".
His brother, Harry Lybrink, told the paper he was grateful that Mr Lybrink’s position at McDonald’s had helped him find purpose for years.
“Back then, they didn’t know what to do with someone who had Down Syndrome,” Harry Lybrink told the Livingstone Daily.
“He never got to go to public school,” he added.
