‘Stay here. Stay working’: After years working in pest control, beloved Jim Blake retires

Published 1:40 pm Sunday, November 1, 2020

While many say Jim Blake deserves his retirement from Town and Country Pest Control, they’re not happy about it.

“Nobody did the job like Jim,” said lawyer Amy Daughtrey. “We’ve used Jim for years. Nobody wants him to retire. That’s ridiculous. He’s done my office, he’s done my house, he’s done my barn.”

Jim was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, and joined the Navy after high school. After working for American Greeting Card Corp. in Chicago, Jim and his wife moved to Tyler.

“I’ve lived in Tyler here for 37 years,” Jim said. “My wife and I married here. I went to work at Sears and Roebuck in management. I managed the auto center for several years, then I managed the hardware, all of the things except major appliances.”

Jim retired the first time just before he turned 60. But Jim couldn’t sit still long. He was hired part time at Goolsbee Tire Co. and in 2002, he started working for his friend, Joe Eakin, owner of Town and Country Pest Control, where he continued for 18 years.

“That is how I met him is through the pest control,” said long-time customer Vera Hall. “He is very personable, I really did feel like I could just call him with any problems. He was just that kind of person.”

After years working in pest control, Jim’s customers became his friends.

“The business relationship just turned into a good friend relationship,” said Hall. “He just always was a gentleman. He enjoyed his work, and enjoyed being with the people. In the past few months, when he said he was going to hang it up, I said, ‘What am I going to do?’”

“I don’t think there’s anybody he doesn’t know,” Daughtrey laughed. “He knows everybody. We don’t want him to retire. Stay here. Stay working. He’s one of the best, you hate to see one of the good ones drop out, retire and have fun.”

Even when she wasn’t home, Daughtrey said she knew she could trust Jim to get the job done.

“Jim is very energetic, lots of energy, lots of go, lots of talk, he loves to share any information that he obtains. He loves his electronics. He loves his job, quite frankly. He’s one of those ones that you just want to stay around forever. He has the right to retire, we just don’t want him to,” joked Daughtrey. “We’re selfish.”

According to Jim’s customers, Jim’s favorite pastime is traveling with his wife, a topic of conversation that came up often.

“Jim working for Town & Country Pest Control is the best part-time job in America,” said Jim’s wife. “It gave us income, friends and freedom to travel.”

Now, Jim is finally hanging up his work coat for what he really believes is the last time.

“We already miss Jim at our company”, owner of Town and Country Pest Control Tommy Treadwell said. “He was great with our customers, becoming friends with many. We could always count on Jim! He will be missed as an employee but remains a friend.”