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There were tears, hugs and selfies as dozens of former Sears employees gathered for one final walk around the Windsor store Sunday night before it closed for the last time.

A teary-eyed Bill McKinnon said he met the love of his life working there. He and his wife, Louise, have been married 30 years.

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“She was my boss — still is,” said Bill, sporting his old name tag and red Sears tie.

“When we first started here, it was a huge family. Everybody came to work and it was fun. We were all similar in age. My wife’s favourite saying is the department that parties together works well together. There was always something going on, always something happening. It was a real good team effort.”

The Devonshire Mall location was one of roughly 130 stores to shut down since Sears Canada filed for bankruptcy last year.

Minutes before it closed for ever at 5 p.m., former employees gathered at the store’s mall entrance for a group photo under the bright blue Sears sign. They tried to keep the smiles up while talking about the old times, when sales were brisk and the employees were like family.