Clarence Esterling is the third longest-serving employee at any Sears in the United States. He's been at Briarwood Mall for the most recent of his 62 years with the company.

Janet Miller | For AnnArbor.com

Clarence Esterling began selling home appliances for Sears, Roebuck and Co. when you could buy any color refrigerator as long as it was white. Televisions broadcast in black and white and came in consoles, and microwave ovens hadn’t been invented yet.

Two months shy of his 79th birthday, Esterling has worked 62 years at Sears, the past almost 35 years at the Briarwood store.

 “I’ve always enjoyed my job and I’ve always done well,” he said.

Esterling’s longevity is especially remarkable in recent times when employee turnover has become the norm and 10 or 15 years of service seems long, said Larraine Brown, human resource lead for Sears Briarwood. “People bounce around more.”

Esterling, who works full-time, has won the respect of those around him.

 “He brings something different to the work environment,” said co-worker Marty Barone. “I don’t think most people get to work with a 79-year-old. Most of us are in our 30s, 40s and 50s. One man retired last year who was 55. Clarence has almost 25 years on him.”

And he continues to be a strong salesman, Barone said. “He hits his (sales) numbers.” 

Esterling wears his award pins for hitting sales goals, landing new accounts and wining sales contests on the lanyard of his identification badge.

 “I manage to be on top,” he said.

It was 62 years ago this month that Esterling began as a stock boy at the Highland Park Sears store on Woodward Avenue. Except for four years in the Air Force beginning in 1950 (in was in the days when Sears counted time in the service in figuring years of service), Esterling has worked at Sears. It’s been his only job.  

Over the years, Esterling worked at a number of Sears stores around the Detroit area, and at one point managed the hardware department in Grosse Pointe Farms. But after his parents moved to Plymouth, Esterling transferred to the Briarwood store to be closer to home. He now lives in South Lyon.

When Sears celebrated Esterling’s 50 years of service along with four other long-timers, he was feted in Chicago. But when it came time to take the group on a private company jet to a resort in Missouri, Esterling had to back out to take care of his ailing mother.

Esterling has kept up with the changing times, going from avocado as the color of choice for kitchen appliances to stainless steel. He’s had to keep up with technology, mastering the Sears computer system for checking inventory and checking out customers. He’s wondered how many appliances he’s sold over the decades, a number impossible to track.

 “It must be in the millions,” he said.

He sees no reason to leave now. The economy has made it hard to think about retirement, he said. But there’s more. He never married - although one time he came close - and he has no children.

“It’s better for me to work than to sit home and watch TV,” he said. “It’s better to be out with people.” 

While Esterling has logged enough years for two careers, he’s not the most senior employee, he said. When Sears became Sears Holdings Corp. and merged with Kmart, there were two employees with even more service, Esterling was told. 

He’s determined to stay long enough to be at the top, he said. 

“It gives me a feeling of accomplishment," he said. "I don’t have other things to brag about. I know I’m right there at the top with a big company like Sears, Roebuck. It would be nice to be No. 1.”