Butch Marion, an 82-year-old man, is defying the stereotype of retirement by working a cash register at a local superstore in Cumberland, Maryland. TikToker Rory McCarty stumbled upon Butch while purchasing batteries and learned that he has been working since he was 11 years old, including serving in the United States Navy for 10 years. Despite originally retiring, Butch now works around 30 hours per week, handling cash registers for up to 9 hours at a time. His reason for returning to work? To support his ex-wife’s new husband, who was struggling with health problems.
Butch Marion’s hardworking story inspired TikToker Rory McCarty to help him retire. As a small business owner, Rory had seen the difficulty of finding reliable employees and was moved by recent stories of people using social media platforms to help elderly workers retire. After tracking down Butch in a parking lot, he asked for permission to start a GoFundMe campaign to help him retire. Butch agreed, and Rory uploaded a video that day. The video quickly went viral and received over 3.3 million views. Within a few days, the campaign shattered its $100,000 goal, and Rory handed Butch a check for $108,000. He had been working as a cashier for 30 hours a week, 8-9 hours at a time, even though he had originally retired years ago to help his ex-wife’s new husband.
Butch expressed to FOX 5, “I feel like a new man.” He has officially retired again and is looking forward to visiting family in Florida whom he hasn’t seen in many years. Butch also plans to renovate his house and enjoy the rest of his life without financial worries. “Bird out of a cage,” he said. The impact of social media is remarkable, and we are thankful for individuals like Rory who use their platforms to make a positive difference in people’s lives.