Sarkis Tatigian was a 17-year-old immigrant when he enlisted in the Navy during World War II.
That was 75 years ago today. He still works for the Navy.
“Mr. T” has largely focused on getting federal monies to small businesses, the Mom and Pop shops of the United States. To date, he has overseen more than $100 billion dollars in contracts awarded to these small businesses.
While I haven’t worked directly with Mr. Tatigian, my contracts have been reviewed by him. There are days when he is on the same shuttle taking folks from work to the metro station. I often see his distinctive form in the halls.
It is common for scholars to denigrate the recollections of elderly people, suggesting that the lateness of their record on their lived experience renders the information unreliable. Surely, it is presumed, the ravages of old age have degraded these people’s understanding of what *actually* happened.
But to hear from those who interact directly with Mr. Tatigian, his mind is sharp and his recollection of the clauses and policies that promote small business is precise. Those who now lead recall their “education” by Mr. T in contracting, mind-illuminating encounters that occurred decades ago, when Mr. T had already been a public servant for over 50 years. Accolades streamed in from senators, admirals, and even the President and his wife.
Mr. T returned to work a mere 5 weeks after quadruple bypass surgery. When a sniper opened fire in the building where we worked in 2013, he spryly escaped through a back door.
Today’s celebration was not a retirement, but a demarcation of yet another anniversary in the service of an outstanding individual. Mr. T has already surpassed the recognized “longest career of a civil servant,” held by now-retired Hardy William Cash for his 63 year career. It’s possible Mr. T could surpass the record for “the longest time an individual has worked for the same company,” held by Thomas Stoddard for his 80 years working at Speakman Company.
For many of us, “enduring to the end” is seen as a white-knuckle enterprise, gritting one’s teeth. But though Mr. T has “endured” in his career, there is no sense that he is biding time or gritting it out. There is no sense that he anticipates a time when he can set down this work and “relax.”
Churchill once said, “Fortune’s favored children belong to the second class [those whose work and pleasure are one]. Their life is a natural harmony.”
To Mr. T, one of Fortune’s favored children. May we strive to find a useful life where work and pleasure can be one, in whatever sphere our effort may occur.
