Posted on June 13, 2025
“The organization’s values were as important to me as their mission.”
Doris Lowe admits there’s a lot to miss since retiring this past April after 27 years as an administrative assistant at Penn-Mar.
She loved her time at Penn-Mar, not only because of the organization’s mission, but also because of the people she met there and the diversity of her tasks. “It was different every day,” she remembered. “There were always new challenges mixed in with the daily routines. The atmosphere was one of constant comings-and-goings of team members, the individuals we supported, and the vendors who always checked in at my desk.”
Doris poses for a photo with her husband and sister, Janie.
And perhaps the most important perk of her job was that she was often able to cross paths with her “pride and joy,” sister Mary Jane “Janie” Bull, who was one of the original people enrolled in Penn-Mar’s Adult Day, Production, and Supported Employment programs back in the 80s. After 38 years at Penn-Mar, Janie is now “retired,” continuing to live with family next door to Doris in Freeland.
After Doris joined Penn-Mar in 1998 as a part-time receptionist at the Freeland Central Office, she soon segued into a full-time role there before moving to the Glen Rock office and eventually to the New Freedom Far Hills facility.
Her duties over the years included greeting guests at the front desk, scheduling meetings, overseeing finances, and reporting Food Stamps, Rep-Payee, and Medical Assistance for the people who Penn-Mar supports.
She loved the interactions with this special group and saw them often when they passed through the lobby at Maryland Line and headed to the Workshop area at the former 10671 Glen Rock facility. Her move to a different office building in Glen Rock was “a tough one” because the people Penn-Mar supports remained in the 10671 building.
Doris poses with one of the people Penn-Mar supports, Brenda.
“If I was having a particularly rough day, I would just walk across the driveway for an attitude adjustment, because within seconds of opening the door I was being greeted by all these amazing people Penn-Mar supports who I sorely missed.”
Doris described her final move to the Far Hills location as “awesome” because all the people Penn-Mar supports were already there. “I was finally blessed with their presence once again,” she said.
After 27 years with an organization, Doris has more memories than she could ever recount, but there is one unusual tradition she shared with former Penn-Mar CEO Keith Peterson and his secretary, the late Judy Bobby, that she couldn’t resist telling.
It all started when Doris pulled out the drawer of the copier machine, and to her horror, found a mouse nest inside. Keith immortalized the incident by often surprising the women with traps, rubber rats, and mice strategically left on their desk chairs and in drawers. The ladies responded in kind by placing plastic pellets on Keith’s desk to mimic mouse droppings. Not surprisingly, when Keith attended Doris’ retirement party at Penn-Mar on April 25th, he came bearing a gift — a box with a rubber rat inside!
“I saw a lot of changes over the years I worked at Penn-Mar,” said Doris. “But we were always like a small family. Their values were as important to me as their mission. No matter who you were, they treated you with such respect. They see your potential and motivate everyone to be successful and enthusiastic about their work. From Penn-Mar, I learned patience and kindness.”
“From the people they support, I learned more than I could ever have taught. I grew up with a sister who has Down syndrome and it is amazing what Penn-Mar did for her and others with [intellectual and developmental disabilities] IDD — they give them a place where they can succeed and thrive.”
Doris will always love and miss everyone at Penn-Mar. “I’m a big hugger,” she confessed. “But in retirement, I will have to settle for sending everyone SMILES, my signature sign-off when I was working there. The organization has been a blessing to both my personal and professional life.”
And, might we add, Doris’ time at Penn-Mar was a blessing to everyone who had the pleasure of knowing and working with her.