WESTON — A small group of loyal customers gathered in Weston Saturday morning to thank a pharmacist who is relocating Walgreens closes A site that has served the community for nearly three decades.
The celebration was led by an 11-year-old child, who shocked the pharmacist by offering him thousands of dollars he had collected as a thank you gift.
Weston Walgreens closed
Amid corporate cutbacks at Walgreens, the location on Boston Post Road is closing permanently. So a small group came out to thank the store pharmacist.
“It’s humbling. I can’t believe it. It’s amazing,” said veteran pharmacist Bob Hesselberg, who has worked at the store for nearly 30 years. “I don’t want to retire, even though I’m 75 years old. I don’t want to retire. I’m not ready for that.”
Hesselberg is moving to a store in Waltham. Leading the send-off was 11-year-old Aarav Khanna, whose school bus routinely takes him right across from the Walgreens location.
“I saw the amount of kindness and hard work he put into his job,” Khanna said.
CBS Boston
Funds collected for the pharmacist
Khanna got the idea to raise money for Hesselberg as a going away gift. The total grew quickly. Thanks to the community, Kanna was able to present Hesselberg with a $6,000 check on Saturday, which left the pharmacist shocked.
During Saturday’s celebration, a little girl presented a handmade card to Hesselberg, whom people in the community call “Pharmacist Bob.”
“When you walk in, he doesn’t just greet you by name, he wants to know how your family is doing, what’s the medication you took last time, how are you doing? And he means it,” customer Carol Ott said.
The Weston Walgreens closes in mid-November. Hesselberg hopes some customers will follow him to Waltham, but he’s concerned about some older residents driving that distance, especially since the chain will no longer offer home delivery.
“I’m going to miss everyone. I’m so grateful for all of this. Thank you so much,” Hesselberg told the crowd.
Ken McLeod
“Devoted student. Bacon advocate. Beer scholar. Troublemaker. Falls down a lot. Typical coffee enthusiast.”