In any group setting, many look around at the people beside them. They share a glance, possibly a smile, and then look the other way or look down. Within seconds, all is forgotten, both parties go about their day, and most of the time never see each other again.

However, if you’ve participated in a sport or been after school for any length of time, you will often see familiar faces. 

While in the hallways after school, many students and staff see custodians cleaning the building. John Deavies has worked at Loy Norrix as a custodian for twenty years. Before working at Norrix, Kalamazoo native Deavies attended Hackett Catholic Prep School located only five minutes away. Deavies has worked in a variety of places, including Bronson Hospital and the Upjohn building. When he eventually began working at high schools twenty-one years ago, his first job was actually at Kalamazoo Central. For over twenty-one years of being a janitor, twenty of those being at Norrix, Deavies has seen a lot of students come and go. 

Deavies has noticed that students and their interests have changed since he was in high school.

“They’re just talking about different stuff,” said Deavies. “We didn’t have phones like them.” 

Black, slim, compact, and functional, the flip phone is a relic of the late 2000s, a period Deavies is familiar with. He is content with the familiar and unlike so many, content with the past. This contentment with the past is why Deavies has not bought a new phone. 

“I’m old school,” said Deavies. “I never had that when I was in school. When I was in school, we didn’t have phones like that. All you had to worry about was having a dime to use the payphone.”

Deavies’ fondness for the past carries through to his job as well. Deavies says he feels satisfied when he can complete what tasks the day brings as a custodian.

Deavies later expressed that he didn’t have any plans for what he wanted to do long-term as a job when he started as a custodian. When he became a custodian, it was just another way to pay the bills. Deavies job, although an important part of his life, is not his number one interest. 

Deavies wears a nice polished silver watch on his wrist. This watch is one of his most treasured possessions, one of the only two watches he has owned. Deavies bought the watch from JCPenney, and the second watch came from his family. 

Deavies is fond of watches, but he has no desire to start a collection during retirement. He is content with what he does and what he has. However, there is one thing he openly admitted to looking forward to during retirement. 

Deavies, reminiscing about his childhood, said, “I’ve been to Disney World, but I haven’t been there in a long time. ” He continued, “Yeah…yeah, that’d be nice.”

Deavies works every day after school in the K-Wing, D-Wing, and cafeteria, yet when surveyed on whether or not they knew the custodians in their wing, twenty-two of twenty-four staff members who teach or are stationed in this area did not reply. 

This lack of reply could be because most teachers leave the building at 2:30 p.m., while Deavies begins his shift around 2:40. However, some teachers in the K-wing were aware of Deavies but did not know his name or had never spoken to him. Deavies stays relatively focused on his custodial task and tries his best not to impose or intrude upon anyone else. 

Before being shifted to the front of the building, Deavies worked in the B-Wing during math teacher Blake Derhammer’s first year in 2022.  Derhammer views Deavies as one of the nicest people at school.

“He was actually one of the first people I met at Loy Norrix. I met him just like walking around the hallways,” Derhammer continued. “I started by just saying hello and then eventually I asked what his name was. He asked about my classroom. He knew the guy who was in this classroom before me really well, so anytime I saw him after that, he would always say hello to me and then we would talk about how school was going because he knew I was a newer teacher.”

Derhammer expressed why he believes it’s important to reach out to people you wouldn’t normally talk to, like those who see Deavies regularly. 

“I think it’s important to talk to people that you see in the building because they’re your coworkers, “ said Derhammer. “I know he’s not a teacher necessarily, he’s a custodian, but he’s been working here a long time. I know that and those people [custodians] deserve to be thanked just as much as we [teachers] do because they take care of our community and our school.”