If you have ever had to schedule a meeting with the principal, signed up for the WHS weekly emails or even needed information from the main office, you’ve probably had contact with the principal’s secretary, Anne Gray.

If you were to walk into the office today and looked at Gray’s desk, it would be covered with bouquets of flowers and balloons with more arriving by the hour. That’s because after Gray has worked at WHS for 29 years, students, teachers and other community members alike want to celebrate Gray’s retirement.

“Retiring is a tough decision,” Gray said. “It’s taken me two years to make the decision.”

Gray wanted to see the new school before retiring, so she stayed until the school was completely finished. Then she planned to retire at the end of last year, but when former principal Pat Tutwiler stepped down, Gray decided to stay on longer to help the new principal adjust.

“I didn’t have anything specific that I was doing after I retired, so I decided to stay on until after the school opening,” Gray said.

In her retirement, Gray plans to visit her son in San Francisco, spend time with her grandchildren and just relax.

“My first year, I hope to read a lot of books and do nothing, but that’s not going to happen. I’m going to get more involved with my church, and I want to do some volunteer work,” Gray said. “And next year, I’d like to get maybe a little part-time job, two days a week, no driving in the snow, on my terms.”

The community is what Gray will miss most about her job.

“I have met so many wonderful parents, students and faculty. The teachers are great. You’ll notice that when you go to college and see everything you’ve learned,” Gray said.

The qualities that Gray loves most about the WHS community were amplified when people heard about her retirement.

“I’m overwhelmed! I just never, never, never would have ever expected what is happening here,” Gray said. “Yesterday, someone came every half hour and brought me flowers. I have one teacher that comes down here and hugs me everyday. I’ve received notes from people who have retired and from some students who have graduated. Today, I received a beautiful bouquet of flowers from one of the past principals, and I’ve gotten them from different departments too. I’ve even received a fruit basket. I’m just overwhelmed. It’s been very difficult for me to stay composed. I’m trying very hard not to cry.”

When reflecting on her favorite memories of WHS, Gray was hard-pressed at first to think of one out of the many.

The story that she did tell was about one of the students back in the old school. Students could work off demerits in the main office, helping out with tasks such as sorting the mail, which Gray oversaw.

A student came in who was constantly in trouble, and Gray was warned not to trust him.

“I generally treat people the way they treat me, so when a lot of people warned me about him and said to not trust him, I didn’t listen to them, and I trusted him,” Gray said.

When Gray saw his work, she was amazed at how fast he was doing it and praised him every day for it. However, two weeks later, Gray received a call from the central office saying that they were getting all of the WHS’s mail.

Gray had no idea what was going on, but then she realized that the student must have put the mail stacks into the interoffice mail, instead of the mailboxes, which would send it back to the central office.

“I was very angry when I heard that, and I approached him the next day, and I asked him if this was what he was doing, and he said yes,” Gray said. “I could not believe that he had done this because I had a 100 percent trust in him, despite people warning me about him. He felt terrible that he had done that since I had given him the benefit of the doubt.”

Despite how tough the situation might have felt while she was going through it, Gray looks back at it and the student with a positive attitude.

“He did come and visit me about two years ago, and he’s doing great. So basically, I really believe that you should always treat people the way they treat you, and don’t always listen to what people say about others,” Gray concluded.