Staff photo / Brandon Cantwell Niles City School District Superintendent Ann Marie Thigpen, left, hugs Kathy Turcich at Tuesday’s Niles Board of Education meeting, during which Turcich was recognized for her 52 years driving a school bus for the district. She recently retired.

NILES — When Kathy Turcich first started driving a bus for Niles City Schools, the district’s elementary students were still attending neighborhood schools like Washington and Jackson.

More than five decades later, the Niles Board of Education recognized Turcich for a 52-year career that spanned generations of local riders.

Before the Niles Board of Education got into its official business Tuesday, Superintendent Ann Marie Thigpen asked Jackie Zook, Ohio Association of Public School Employees Local 365 president, to come forward alongside Turcich, whose retirement resignation was approved at a May 26 meeting.

With Turcich’s career spanning over half a century, Zook noted how much the world has changed in that time.

“While presidents changed, technology evolved and the world completely transformed, one thing remained constant,” Zook said. “Kathy was in the driver’s seat, ensuring everyone got to where they needed to go safely.”

Zook said Turcich has driven generations of the same families and helped kindergarteners on their first day of school and high schoolers celebrating big wins. It is a job that requires the patience of a saint, the navigation skills of a GPS and the ability to tune out noise happening right behind her head.

“You don’t just move people from Point A to Point B — you steer them with care,” Zook said.

Thigpen recalled her own history with Turcich when Thigpen worked at Washington Elementary School.

“The buses will line up at Hartzell (Avenue), and they’re like a mile down, and you’re there, you’re smiling; I remember being a principal at Jackson (Elementary), and you were there,” Thigpen said. “At Garfield — you have just been at every milestone in this district.”

Thigpen said many employees at Niles McKinley High School recognize Turcich, with some recalling when she was their bus driver.

“No GPS — you just knew where you had to go on those long field trips; no air conditioning, so you have just weathered the storm with Niles City Schools,” Thigpen said. “We just can’t thank you enough.”

“To work for 52 years is phenomenal; to be a bus driver for 52 years — you are a saint, just like Jackie said — because that’s a difficult job to do, and we all recognize that,” Thigpen said.