At 92 years old, Magnolia’s Society of Samaritans’ (S.O.S.) most loyal volunteer is also known as the organization’s resident grandmother.

Dorothy Koeppen, of Magnolia, has been volunteering at the S.O.S. food pantry in the West Montgomery County Community Development Center for the past 14 years.

After retiring from Klein’s Super Market, where she worked for 20 years, a friend who persuaded her to volunteer with S.O.S.

“A friend of mine suggested I work here,” she said. “So that’s what I did.”

Every Tuesday, as long as she’s not sick or has a doctor’s appointment, Koeppen arrives at S.O.S. before it even opens to help in the center’s food pantry, whether it be stocking shelves, organizing products or simply cleaning up.

“I just worked all my life doing something,” she said about why she volunteers. “I enjoy being out with people.”

S.O.S.’s treasurer Sonia DeLeon, said Koeppen “amazes” the staff with her work ethic.

“You really don’t have to tell her what to do, she already knows,” she said.

DeLeon said the organization has many elderly volunteers like Koeppen who tirelessly dedicate their time to volunteering.

“The food pantry for her is what keeps her going,” she said.

In a time when the need for assistance is high, volunteers like Koeppen are vital to the organization’s functioning.

Office manager Sissy Everett, daughter of S.O.S. founder Judy Everett, was just 10 years old when Koeppen began volunteering with the organization.

“What I like about her (Koeppen) is that she greets them (pantry recipients),” she said. “She comforts them and tells them it will get better. She has a big heart.”

Soft-spoken but never without a warm smile, Koeppen is humble about the time she’s dedicated to the non-profit organization and the impact she’s had on the people she works with and those she’s helped.

“They all seem to like me,” she said of her co-workers at S.O.S. “Guess they hope they can do what I can at my age.”

Koeppen, who will turn 93 in April, said she plans to continue volunteering at the pantry “as long as I can.”

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