Photo provided Sam and Regina Nugent celebrated their anniversary with their Walmart family.
When companies say “we’re like a family here,” most probably don’t mean it in a literal sense. But for local Walmart employees Sam and Regina Nugent, that’s just the case.
Both are employees of the Merchant Mile location, Sam’s on door greeting duty while Regina works at self-checkout. Their son James has worked at the Walmart distribution center in Seymour for almost 30 years, while their daughter Selah works with Sam and Regina as a pharmacy technician.
There’s also two of their grandchildren and one of their great-grandkids who work for Walmart. Even their eldest daughter worked at Walmart for a while.
Last month, Sam and Regina commemorated their 58th wedding anniversary. As they took their lunch Sept. 16, the date of their anniversary, they found that their Walmart co-workers had surprised them with cake and gifts.
“It was fantastic,” Regina said. “We didn’t expect it and we both got a little teary-eyed.”
The pair had met while Regina was working at a cigar factory in Clearwater and Sam was working as a driver. One day, Sam asked his friend if his girlfriend knew any nice girls, and she just so happened to ask Regina if she was interested in meeting him.
“And so I said sure, so we met from there and when I (saw) him, I thought, ‘oh wow,’” Regina said. “He’s told me that’s what he said about me, you know how guys are.”
Sam and Regina married in 1967 after being together for a year, and in 1968, they had their first child Teresa. But their biggest adventure together was just beginning, as shortly after the two married, Regina began driving for Aero Mayflower Transit Company with Sam.
“That was fun because my husband, we’ve always worked together and when we got married at that time, I really didn’t have to work, but being home, it’s like ugh,” Regina said. “So I went to work and then I think we drove for Mayflower 13 years and then my husband had that little spark that he wanted me to drive, so he bought me a truck.”
Even as they had their son James and their second daughter Selah, Sam and Regina kept on trucking, literally. Before Regina got her truck, they brought their three kids and their Doberman with them as they drove around for work.
They had to share the kids when Regina got her truck, but the family met up every three weeks on the West Coast, usually in California. When they came home, they usually stayed for a couple of weeks.
Even when on the road, they stayed connected. When Sam was on the road and Regina was home, they kept in touch over the phone every night, sometimes having to spend $700 a month on phone bills.
“But when he came home, he knew everything that was going on,” Regina said. “He didn’t come home and was in the dark, he knew everything.”
The family later moved to Oregon, where they would continue to meet up every few weeks, before moving to Florida when Regina was pregnant with their fourth child Jessica. As Jessica started school, Regina and the kids decided to stay home while Sam stayed on the road.
“Our family life was good,” Regina said. “I mean, everyone has their up and downs and everything, but out of our 58 years, the Lord blessed us and we’re still here and we still, believe this or not, love each other.”
In 2015, Sam and Regina moved to Columbus as Sam was offered a church pastor position with Cornerstone Fellowship Church in Elizabethtown. Regina, seeing that Walmart needed someone in apparel, decided to apply for a job. Sam would join her a few years later with Walmart.
Regina said working with her family members has been good. When her grandchildren walk by, they’ll say “hi grandma” and her daughter will say “hi mother” when she walks by. Regina and Sam will smile and wave at each other too during their shifts.
“… I cannot imagine myself without him, and I know to some people it may be a little weird, but he’s what people call a soulmate,” Regina said. ”And then working here at Walmart, it’s just the way they took us in. They take care of us. I had some knee surgery, they helped me there, with my eyes, they were just there for me. And I don’t think I could ask for anything better.”
