Long Island diner waitress retires after 43 years

After working as a waitress at Plainview Diner on Long Island for half of her life, Sylvia Smith, 86, said goodbye to the patrons and co-workers she refers to as her family, according to FoxNewsInsider.com.

Sylvia started working at The Plainview Diner the day it opened in February 1973. After 43 years, she decided it was finally time to retire. On October 21, she showed up to work for her last shift, which she thought would be a typical day. But the restaurant's owners and customers came together to throw her an amazing retirement bash.

"The Plainview Diner was bursting with love that night. Patrons young and old were pouring in from all over the county to pay homage to waitress Sylvia," the diner wrote on Facebook.