A few moments before First Selectman Dan Rosenthal honored resident and local merchant Eunice Laverty with a ceremonial proclamation in front of her Bagel Delight shop March 3, someone in the crowd that gathered yelled out the town should proclaim it “Eunice Day” in Newtown.

And true to her self-effacing nature, the equally loud one-word reaction from Laverty herself was a resounding “NO!”

Nonetheless, the brief ceremony, ahead of her 75th Birthday was an opportunity for friends, family, loyal patrons, and Rosenthal to recognize a local merchant who has much more quietly made a glowing impression on many — whether they are near-daily regulars to her modest bagel shop and deli, or those who visit — some after traveling hundreds or thousands of miles just to enjoy a few moments of spirited conversation, along with a tasty selection from her menu of bagels, sandwiches, and baked goods.

It was generally agreed among those who spoke to The Newtown Bee before and following the brief ceremony, that despite countless early mornings she has arisen to open the shop and begin the day’s work and the continual and sometimes thankless grind of operating a small retail food service business, Laverty will nearly always greet patrons with a chipper smile, a twinkle in her eye, and the familiar, “What can we get you today?”

According to details previously reported in The Bee, and a few other snippets from family members, besides celebrating her 75th birthday March 8, Laverty will be marking 28 years behind the counter in the same familiar Church Hill Road location come November.

But don’t even talk to her about retirement.

She already tried that, when departing a career as a social worker in the final days of Fairfield Hills operations as a state hospital. Having grown up in Danbury with four brothers and one sister, and heading out to complete a college degree in South Dakota, Laverty returned, eventually marrying Terence Laverty in June of 1971.

As her daughter Kate Laverty aptly summed up, “Many who live here don’t realize how long she has been operating for. It is more than a place to get a coffee and sandwich. They know it as a place where someone knows your name, and if not, she knows your mother’s name, or your kids’ names. She is like that. Never forgetting the important things she knows about you, not the inconsequential things.”

The brief ceremony and proclamation was suggested to Rosenthal by Rebecca Kowalski, who shares the same birthday. In prefacing the reading of the proclamation, which is presumably available for viewing at the shop, the first selectman recalled walking into his Municipal Center office on his first day of elected service and being greeted by a single cookie on his desk — a gift from Laverty to be sure he felt welcomed.

That type of small personal sentiment has been a Eunice Laverty hallmark for the duration of her food service career.

As Kate noted, “It is said that all things remarkable are surprisingly simple. Knowing this, she will send you off in the morning with a smile and usually a laugh that somehow makes your commute a little shorter. Just moved to Newtown and you need a tutor? Help around the house? A place to buy an unusual gift? Ask Eunice. She sort of knows a lot about the town, the kind of knowledge that comes from consistently operating a highly visible, extremely busy eatery for the past 28 years.”

As another observant friend said in summing up what makes Laverty so special, and her business such a popular destination, “You can’t spell Eunice without N-I-C-E.”

Reach editor John Voket at john@thebee.com