DEMOPOLIS — They say that the only way to not get old is to keep on working, and apparently Rosie Gibson has adopted that as her motto.

Gibson, who recently opened Rosie’s Diner on East Washington, retired from General Motors as an assembly line worker.

After working in Michigan, then Georgia, Gibson moved to Demopolis about a year ago to open her diner. But this was no random move.

Willie Austin, who works at Bryan W. Whitfield Memorial Hospital, knew her sister was looking to open a restaurant and found the spot where she is located now. The vacancy brought Gibson to the Demopolis area.

“She just called one day and said, ‘Rosie, I found you a spot for a restaurant,’ so I came on,” said Gibson.

Cooking is no stranger for Gibson. As the sixth child of nine, she’s used to it.

“As a young child, I had no choice but to cook,” Gibson said.

“I should hate it, but I really don’t.”

One of her fondest memories of cooking as a child, as strange as it sounds, was burning food as a child.

“There was always something going on outside with my other siblings while I was inside cooking, so as I tried to keep up with what was going on outside, I’d end up burning something inside,” Gibson said.

Gibson has catered various functions for the past 15 or 20 years and still does when called upon.

“That’s really what got me into this restaurant,” said Gibson.

Most of her customers she sees at least on a weekly basis, and some even on a daily basis.

“Everybody loves my lemon pie with nuts on the bottom,” said Gibson of her customer favorites.

“And then my turkey and dressing is everyone’s favorite special I have.”

Gibson, who lives in Eutaw and attends New Generation Church, has two sons, Ernest and Kenneth of Birmingham, Ala, and Grand Rapids, Mich, respectively.

Her specials change daily, but all the regulars know that Tuesday is fried pork chops, Wednesday is turkey and dressing, Thursday is barbeque ribs or chicken, and Friday is fish day.

“You know, just don’t want to get old sitting at home,” Gibson said, when asked why she came out of retirement to open a new business.

“I go home getting ready for the next day and get up getting ready for that day. I’ll be sixty next month — I don’t plan to stop any time soon and you let everybody know that.” Gibson said.