SANDPOINT — A dedicated employee of the Lake Pend Oreille School District recently retired after 43 years.

In an email to the Daily Bee, LPOSD transportation director James Koehler said Sharynn Pratt began working as a school bus driver in February 1973 and officially retired from her route on Nov. 19. During the more than four decades, he said, she drove several generations of Bonner County families.

When Koehler asked her how she became a bus driver, she told him it began one day when she ran out of gas in Cocolalla while hauling a load of hay. The school district superintendant at the time gave her a ride home, then returned a few weeks later and asked if she would be interested in driving a school bus.

"Her favorite memories after 43 years is watching the students develop into adults and seeing them start their own lives after graduation," Koehler said. "Her worst memory of driving school bus was driving a bus on ice with standing water on top which caused the front end of her bus to go side to side, which was extremely scary."

Koehler also asked her if she could give a new bus driver advice on how to survive four decades of driving students to and from school, and she said "you have to be strong at heart with enduring patience, lots of fortitude and self-control."

Before becoming a bus driver, Pratt worked at the Boundary County Hospital and the Panhandle Health Department.

"As a bus driver, Sharynn was known for her reliability, excellent student management and calm demeanor," Koehler said. "Her upbeat attitude will be missed by the entire department."