A Good Age: Retired Braintree grocery cashier, 97, and wife celebrate 70 years together

BRAINTREE – Cheerful, funny and courteous, Louis San Miguel became a familiar and popular figure to food shoppers at the Stop & Shop on Grove Street over the past 20 years.

Shoppers would line up at Register 13 so they could have "Lou" check them out, along with a few kind words of advice.

In January 2020, shortly after San Miguel's 95th birthday, state Sen. Walter F. Timilty showed up with Mayor Charles Kokoros, Braintree police, firefighters and other officials to honor San Miguel for his military service during World War II. He received citations from the state Senate and House of Representatives.

He was stationed in Europe from Oct. 6, 1944, to March 18, 1946, with the U.S. Army 103rd Infantry Division in France, Germany and Italy, engaged in ground combat during the Battle of the Bulge and was later injured.

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Shortly after San Miguel's big media event at the grocery store, COVID arrived in Massachusetts, the state shut down and San Miguel retired. Since then, shoppers have wondered how he was and what he was up to.

He loved his job as a checkout cashier, which he started at age 74 after retiring from the Bank of Boston as an assistant vice president. Into his mid-90s, he worked 16 hours a week from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and Friday.

A year ago, he and his wife, Lucille, moved to Grove Manor Estates assisted living in Braintree.

On May 3, Louis, 97, and Lucille, 92, celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary.

Both have health issues now and their daughter Loretta LaCentra, of Revere, arranged a small and very joyful family party. Two of their other three daughters – Lois Kraus, of Walpole, and Linda McHugh, of Florida – were there.

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Loretta said that when she comes down from Revere once a week to help her parents with appointments, they often stop for breakfast at Ashley's in Braintree Square.

"People invariably recognize my father," she said. "They call out, 'Hey, Lou, how are you?' He had an impact on people."

San Miguel, whose parents came from Spain through Ellis Island, grew up in Barre, Vermont. His father worked in the granite business in nearby St. Johnsbury. After his military service, he went to the University of Vermont on the GI Bill, majored in accounting and graduated in 1950.

He and Lucille Taupier met that same year, were married in 1952 and eventually moved to Quincy and then Braintree as his banking career progressed. They raised four daughters and lived in the same house in Braintree for 56 years. Their daughters were born between 1953 and 1960, all with names starting with the letter L: Linda and Laura, both in Florida, Loretta in Revere and Lois in Walpole.

San Miguel enjoyed the cashier work in retirement because it gave him a purpose and a social setting.

"I do this because I enjoy the people immensely," he said in 2019. "It's always exciting. I enjoy their company, the tales they tell me. They confide in me, tell me about their lives and their problems and I listen."

There are plenty of people who remember Lou and would still like to be bending his ear at the checkout.

For those who would like, cards may be sent to Louis and Lucille San Miguel, Grove Manor Estates, 160 Grove St., Apt. 208, Braintree 02184.

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Scituate Garden Club plant sale

The annual spring plant sale of the Scituate Garden Club will from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 21, at 108 Greenfield Lane, at the intersection with Stockbridge Road.

The more than 2,000 plants will include hundreds of potted perennials, natives and wildflowers, plus annuals, many varieties of tomatoes, veggies and herbs, plus creative gifts.

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Braintree grocery cashier Louis San Miguel, wife mark 70th anniversary