{"id":278059,"date":"2025-07-20T18:59:28","date_gmt":"2025-07-20T18:59:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/278059\/"},"modified":"2025-07-20T18:59:28","modified_gmt":"2025-07-20T18:59:28","slug":"tributes-paid-as-worlds-longest-serving-kfc-worker-dies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/278059\/","title":{"rendered":"Tributes paid as world&#8217;s longest-serving KFC worker dies"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Pauline started working at the fast food chain in 1978<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_JMR_BRI_190125kfc01.jpg\" alt=\"Tributes have poured in for Pauline Richards, aged 74 or 75, who passed away this summer after almost 50 years working at KFC.\" loading=\"eager\"  \/>Pauline Richards(Image: Len Copland \/ Western Daily Press)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Heartfelt tributes have been flooding in for a Taunton woman who was renowned for holding the world record as the longest-serving worker at KFC. Pauline Richards became a beloved figure in the community since she started flipping burgers back in 1978, known for her unwavering commitment and sharp wit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Pauline began her tenure at the eatery as a cleaner to lend a hand to a mate who had just landed a job there. From then on, she&#8217;s dished out over six million drumsticks and showed no signs of hanging up her apron just yet.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">In a chat earlier this year, she shared: &#8220;It all depends on what my body says. I have been lucky I keep well. I haven&#8217;t had much illness in my life.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The Spud Shack, another local Taunton restaurant, posted an emotional homage to Pauline, stating: &#8220;We, as many of the town are mourning Pauline from KFC. She was the world&#8217;s longest-serving KFC employee.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">&#8220;She will be very missed by everyone in Taunton. Pauline was very well known in the town for her dry sense of humour when dealing with people who were a tad intoxicated!&#8221;, reports <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.somersetlive.co.uk\/news\/somerset-news\/taunton-woman-longest-serving-kfc-10359361\" target=\"_self\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Somerset Live<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Townfolk have been sharing their cherished recollections of Pauline, with one chap recalling: &#8220;Banned me in the early 80s&#8230;..KFC stopped doing ribs&#8230;.. I was drunk and not having it. RIP Pauline&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Others reminisced about her keeping order among rowdy teens in the joint, with someone noting &#8220;She never took any messing&#8221; on a bustling Friday or Saturday night. Meanwhile, another person recalled her stern warning: &#8216;behave or no chicken&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Another commented: &#8220;Oh no! I didnt know she had passed, how sad, but she left a legacy and will be remembered by many. AND she gave me a free gravy once! Bless her we were a nightmare to her in our youth! She took no nonsense!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Folks have been calling her &#8216;a legend in her own time&#8217; and a &#8216;lovely lady&#8217;. There&#8217;s even been a chap suggesting that a statue should be erected in her honour in town.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">KFC has been approached for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pauline started working at the fast food chain in 1978Pauline Richards(Image: Len Copland \/ Western Daily Press) Heartfelt&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":278060,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8818],"tags":[381,748,3374,393,4884,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-278059","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bristol","8":"tag-bristol","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-employment","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114887102489478619","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=278059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278059\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/278060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=278059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=278059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=278059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}