“a colleague you could count on”

“I came for a repair!” » exclaimed Denis Duchemin by discovering a fifty people in the multipurpose room Mermoz high school, in Vire Normandy (Calvados).

A false repair

While he was returning home, a colleague called him claiming to need his help with a lighting problem. It was with great emotion that Denis discovered the high school staff, some of whom had returned, especially to wish him a happy retirement.

A carpenter who became a team manager

It was on September 1, 2002 that Denis Duchemin, originally from Agon-Coutainville, arrived at Mermoz high school, as building maintenance worker. After working for 19 years in the private sector as a workshop carpenter, he made houses with wooden frames.

I took a carpentry maintenance worker competition to see what it was like. I was taken and appointed here. I became responsible for a mixed maintenance, cleaning and laundry team.

Since September 1, 2007, Denis has been working full time in the establishment where he moved with his wife in a official accommodation.

Rigor transmitted to the team

Everyone salutes his seriousness, his dexterity, his love for a job well done and his professionalism. Guillaume Duclos, high school principalsaid that Denis always had a notebook with him to write down what was wrong:

We knew it would be done as quickly as possible. He was always very calm and very efficient. His favorite phrase: ‘that’s unheard of!’

Denis knew how to handle unforeseen events perfectly: a general power outage in the middle of open doors, unexpected triggering of the alarm and fire alert in the middle of the night, a water leak last December…

His sense of human relations was highlighted: “More than just a technical manager, you were a colleague on whom everyone could count, a wise ear,” declared the principal. “You leave behind you a precious heritage of know-how and interpersonal skills ».

Fishing, gardening, beekeeping…

To illustrate the leisure activities that the new retiree will be able to indulge in, several songs were played: “Santiago” by Hugues Aufray, in reference to the boat waiting for him in Coutances, “Le Rêve du Pêcheur” by Laurent Voulzy because Denis practice fishing at sea and on foot, “Do you know how to plant cabbages”, because the cabinetmaker is also passionate about gardening, “Maïa the bee” since he has 4 hives. After 44 years of work, Denis and his wife Lynda will settle into their house in Sausseynear Coutances, in January.

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