behaving, Bev found a safe ….

behaving, Bev found a safe stretch of road and pulled the bus over and not move it until the kids learned that they wouldn’t be getting home until they behaved. She said she wouldn’t have to say a word because the kids knew, or quickly found out, that if someone wasn’t behaving in the right manner, the bus wouldn’t be moving.

She said rules on how bus drivers could discipline kids changed but she never had to because her method allowed the kids to police themselves and by dictating when they would be getting home that particular evening.

During her time with Burnett Transit, Bev helped coach newer drivers on what was acceptable when driving the bus.

“There were basic rules and then there were Joe’s rules. He’s a bit stricter than most. We have to check our busses, the tires, the lights and fuel up. That was natural to me because I did that with a cattle truck.

“If someone would have told me I’d be driving this long, I would have told me they were crazy,” Fecker said.

She said there were times where she thought she could retire but she loves kids and it was hard to stop driving and give up time she could be spending with kids.

“I’ve got six children, 12 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren so I love kids and I couldn’t just step down and leave them.”

When looking for a time to step down, Bev decided that when her next driver’s license renewal date came around, that it would be time for her to be done driving bus. She said giving up her CDL was one of the harder things she experienced while heading for retirement.

“I told the DMV worker that I’m giving up my CDL. I’ll be 81 next week and I think it’s time.”

In her 25 years as a bus driver, Bev never had an accident but that thought of “What if ?” always stuck with her as she contemplated retirement.

“I thought if I had an accident, it’s not just me [that could get in trouble], it’ll be Joe because they’re going to look at him and say, ‘What is that 80-year-old woman doing driving a bus?’” Her time with her coworkers before and after bus routes is another thing she misses about the job.

“I got along with everyone. In her free time Bev hopes to see her kids, grand kids and great-grand kids more often. She has a son who lives in Arizona and has already been out to see him once this summer but she said she would like to make more trips to visit him.

She also looks forward to hosting Christmas, Thanksgiving and other celebrations with her grand kids and great-grand kids and said trading work in for more time with family was something that she was certainly looking forward to.

“I wouldn’t change it for the world.”